Besides the Met Gala, fashion’s next big night of the year would be the CFDA Awards (which are tonight!) But because I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to talk about them, I thought we’d have a little non-red-carpet chat today.
Last year I shared with you my predictions for who would win the award in each category. I’ll do the same this year, except I’ll be sharing those predictions on this week’s podcast (which I’ll be recording later today!) So we’ll see how accurate I am this year — was two for six in 2014…maybe I’ll do a little better for ’15.
So this year, instead of a predictions post, I thought we’d do a behind-the-scenes / fun facts post. These designers and awards are kind of a big deal, so I suggest you pay attention. You never know when you’ll end up picking the fashion category on Jeopardy (if that even exists…)
WOMENSWEAR DESIGNER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES:
Joseph Altuzarra — last year’s winner in this category / worked as first assistant to Riccardo Tisci previous to launching his label (also responsible for these pants)
Marc Jacobs — has been nominated for and won several awards throughout his career, but it all started with the Design Student of the Year Award he received while at Parson’s.
Michael Kors — served as creative director for Céline from 1998 to 2004 (although not responsible for the Luggage Tote or Trapeze Bag himself…who knows if those would’ve ever happened if it weren’t for MK?)
Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler — Proenza and Schouler are the maiden names of Jack and Lazaro’s mothers (and they’re the reason my dog’s name is Laz…)
Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen for The Row — everything by The Row (minus the bags produced in Italy) is made in America (side note, who knew Michelle Tanner would end up being responsible for the most amazing leather leggings?!)
MENSWEAR DESIGNER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES:
Dao-Yi Chow & Maxwell Osborne for Public School — they were the sole menswear brand chosen by the CFDA to be part of the inaugural Fashion Incubator business development program (and in general, Dao-Yi and Maxwell are just killing it right now)
Marcus Wainwright & David Neville for Rag & Bone — neither Marcus nor David have any formal design training (doesn’t seem to be hurting them though!)
Thom Browne — signed his first licensing agreement with Dita in 2011 to create eyewear for both men and women.
Tim Coppens — still a fairly new designer, founded his line in 2011, Barneys picked up his first collection and many other luxury retailers followed suit (re: Mr. Porter, Harvey Nichols, Dover Street Market, etc.)
Tom Ford — during his ten years as Creative Director at Gucci and Gucci Group, sales increased from $230 million in 1994 to almost $3 billion in 2003, making the design house one of the largest and most profitable luxury brands in the world (not too shabby Mr. Ford…)
ACCESSORY DESIGNER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES:
Alexander Wang — in 2008 he was the recipient of the CFDA / Vogue fashion Fund and launched his first handbag collection the same year (so it looks like we have Vogue and the CFDA to thank for this)
Irene Neuwirth — in 2003, she created a small collection of jewelry that was immediately bought by Barneys (it’s safe to say that Barneys is the ultimate trendsetter!)
Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler — first launched handbags in 2008, which included their now iconic PS1 (AKA the best handbag…ever…not an opinion, just a fact)
Tabitha Simmons — was a model and a stylist before launching her debut shoe collection in 2009.
Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen for The Row — their leather backpack is the most recognizable of The Row accessories, but at almost $4,000 it’s not the most expensive (that would be the $34,000 alligator backpack)
SWAROVSKI AWARD FOR WOMENSWEAR:
Dao-Yi Chow & Maxwell Osborne for Public School — with all of the awards and praise these guys have received over the last few years, it’s all been for their menswear collection (they actually only launched womenswear last year…and they’re already being nominated for the Swarovski award…and showing up in my closet!)
Rosie Assoulin — worked for Oscar de la Renta and Lanvin before starting her own collection, which actually debuted during Resort season in 2014 (not so typical, as spring / fall are a much bigger deal in fashion so it’s quite risky to debut for Resort or Pre-Fall…but didn’t seem to get in Rosie’s way!)
Ryan Roche — doesn’t live in New York City, LA, Paris, London or Milan…she actually resides in a 17th century stone house in upstate New York with her husband, her three children, their Poodle and twin Rhodesian Ridgebacks. Talk about a full house! (although that joke would have been better if Mary Kate and Ashley had this living situation)
SWAROVSKI AWARD FOR MENSWEAR:
Shayne Oliver for Hood By Air — the brand was founded in 2006 but shut down from ’09 to ’12, as one of the co-founders decided to leave the company, and now HBA has two lines…Classics, which are made up of sweatshirts and tees with the brand’s signature oversized block letters, and a separate, more directional RTW line (I really thought Shayne was going to win this last year so we’ll see what happens this year!)
Orley — this brand is a true family affair, founded by Matthew Orley, his wife Samantha and Matthew’s younger brother, Alex.
Ovadia & Sons — another family affair, founded by twin brothers Ariel and Shimon Ovadia, that actually just expanded into my favorite category…Athleisure!
SWAROVSKI AWARD FOR ACCESSORY DESIGN:
Eva Fehren — If $2k is little out of your price range for Eva Fehren’s signature gold X ring (and that’s without diamonds by the way), you can get your hands on her J. Crew collaboration that incorporates the exact same design for under $60!
Rachel Mansur & Floriana Gavriel for Mansur Gavriel — if you always wondered about those bucket bags every blogger owns and why you can never find them anywhere because they’re alway sold out…THESE ARE THE LADIES RESPONSIBLE FOR SAID BUCKET BAGS.
Paul Andrew — was the winner of last year’s CFDA / Vogue Fashion Fund (and if you haven’t watched The Fashion Fund yet, it’s what you should be doing this weekend…)
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Because we’ll have to wait until tonight to hear the winners, be sure to let me know NOW who you predict will win in each category. In the mean time, you can shop the designers below.
Images via CFDA
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