Aside from Rihanna, also honoured at the annual CFDA ceremony at Lincoln Centre were a number of top designers. Joseph Altuzarra won the womenswear award, and the menswear prize went to Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, the duo behind the Public School label. Sisters Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen of The Row won the accessories award.
The international award went to Raf Simons of Dior, and the CFDA lifetime achievement award went to designer Tom Ford, who quipped that he hoped it didn’t spell the end of his career.
“Please have me back in another 25 years,” Ford joked. “I promise I’ll wear a toupee and walk with a cane.”
An emotional high point of the ceremony was the bestowing of the prestigious Founders Award to Bethann Hardison, a former model and modelling agent who has been a vocal champion for diversity on runways.
She was introduced by model Naomi Campbell, who choked up when she described her admiration for Hardison. When Hardison came onstage to accept her trophy, so did 16 models of colour, standing behind her and smiling. She spoke passionately of the need for diverse runways — “just let them model,” she said — and added that things were improving throughout the industry on that score.
The annual CFDA show, hosted this year by director and screenwriter John Waters, always draws a mix of fashion insiders and Hollywood. This year, one of the biggest names was Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, who presented the womenswear award to Altuzarra.
Nyong’o, who has become as famous for her choices on the red carpet as her skyrocketing acting career, told the crowd that if there was one thing she had learned in a year of film festivals and awards shows, “it is the power of fashion”. She wore a cropped Suno jumpsuit, in multi-coloured stripes.
Other Hollywood stars in attendance included Blake Lively in a short Michael Kors dress, and Emmy Rossum in a green chiffon J. Mendel gown. Greta Gerwig wore a bright orange Zac Posen gown.
