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Council of Fashion Designers of America

Abbreviation	CFDA
Formation	1962; 62 years ago (1962)
Founder	Eleanor Lambert
Type	Trade association
Legal status	Nonprofit organization
Purpose	To strengthen the impact of American fashion in the global economy
Location	Manhattan, New York City
Fields	Fashion
Membership	484[1] (in 2019)
Chairman	Thom Browne
CEO	Steven Kolb
Website	cfda.com

The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert,^[2] and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessory designers. The organization promotes American designers' participation in the global economy.

In addition to hosting the annual CFDA Fashion Awards, the organization develops future American design talent through scholarships and resources in high schools, colleges, and postgraduate schools. The CFDA also provides funding and business opportunities for working designers. Through the CFDA Foundation, the organization engages in various charitable activities.

The first president of the CFDA was Sydney Wragge^[3] (1962–1965). Steven Kolb has been the CEO since 2006. As of January 2023, Thom Browne is the group's chairman; he follows Tom Ford, who served as chairman for three years. Additionally, Diane von Furstenberg served as chairman for 13 years from 2006 until 2019.^[4]

These people founded the CFDA in 1962:

The CFDA Fashion Awards were founded in 1980 with the first awards given in 1981. They honor and showcase excellence in fashion design.^[8] The CFDA Fashion Awards were created by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. They have been sometimes referred to as "the Oscars of fashion".^[9][10] Prior to the establishment of the CFDA Awards, the Coty Awards fulfilled a similar role until they ended in 1985, with the final Coty Awards bestowed in September 1984.^[11][12] In 1997, the CFDA Fashion Awards began including emerging designers.^[13][14]

Nominations are submitted by the Fashion Guild, a group of over 1,500 CFDA members including fashion editors, retailers, and stylists.^[15] Award winners are determined by vote and announced at an annual black tie event held in Manhattan. Award winners receive a trophy made by the New York firm Society Awards.^[16]

For the 2022 and 2023 editions, Amazon Fashion sponsored the event.^[17][18]

The CFDA Awards have been given out since 1981.^[19] The 1981 awards were given out at the first annual CFDA awards ceremony on January 14, 1982 at a dinner in the New York Public Library.^[20][21] The winners had been announced two months before the ceremony^[20] which was originally scheduled for a television extravaganza in the fall of 1981.^[21] CFDA president Bill Blass had set off controversy when he announced that all of the nominees will be named winners to avoid televising designers as they lose awards.^[21][22] In response, nominee Geoffrey Beene rejected the award and said, "The industry needs a major award for its merit, not its emotion.”^[22]

Under the new CFDA president Perry Ellis, the 1984 CFDA awards in January 1985 had a broadened set of awards that included awards for MTV, Nike billboards, and Details magazine.^[23][24][25] According to Donna Karan, who headed the awards committee, "We wanted these awards to go beyond designers. It`s all about creativity and the whole scope of fashion."^[24] After the Coty Awards were discontinued 1985, the CFDA Awards were seen as the top honors in the fashion industry^[23][26][20] with the wider variety of awards making the event more interesting and modern.^[23][27] James Galanos received the first CFDA "Lifetime Achievement Award" in 1984,^[24] which the CFDA named after Geoffrey Beene.^[28] At the 1984 awards, Bill Blass presented the "Eugenia Sheppard fashion award" to Earl Blackwell and said it would be given annually "for outstanding contribution to fashion journalism."^[25] However, Women's Wear Daily later reported that Etta Froio, editor of Women's Wear Daily and W, won the first "Eugenia Sheppard award" in 1986.^[29]

The CFDA Awards were staged at the New York Public Library until they moved to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the 1986 awards in January 1987.^[20][27][30] The CFDA's first "Perry Ellis Award" for new fashion talent was given to David Cameron in 1986, the award was named after the former council president who died that year.^[30][31][32]

Other awards:

• 1981: Special awards for Robert Lighton - khaki sportswear; Andrew Fezza - leather for men^[21] (or Award for Menswear);^[42] and Fernando Sanchez - Excellence in At-Homewear and Lingerie.^[43]
• 1982 Awards: Outstanding fashion illustrator: Antonia Lopez. Outstanding fashion photographer: Bill Cunningham.^[34][35]
• 1984 Awards: Astor Place Hair Designers - influence on contemporary hair design in America; Annie Flanders - fresh approach to fashion journalism as editor and publisher of Details magazine;^[24] Kitty D`Alessio, president of Chanel - “revitalizing Chanel’s image in the U.S.;”<sup>[44]</sup> John Fairchild, chairman of Fairchild Publications - M magazine;<sup>[24]</sup> Ira Neimark and Dawn Mello - rejuvenating Bergdorf Goodman<sup>[25]</sup>/leadership in retailing;<sup>[24]</sup> Peter Moore - Nike billboard advertising campaign; Bruce Weber - fashion advertising photography; Robert W. Pittman, executive vice president of MTV - MTV`s role in modern communications and its influence on fashion^[24]/"opening our eyes to a new medium";^[25] and Diana Vreeland, special consultant to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art - "unparalleled contribution to the world of fashion as an art."^[24]
• 1985 Awards: Michael Mann, producer of the television series Miami Vice, for its overall style influence. Claudio Segovia and Héctor Orezzoli for bringing Tango Argentino to Broadway. Special tribute and fashion show for designer Rudi Gernreich who died in 1985.^[38][26]
• 1986 Awards: Dalma Callado, model - personifying the spirit of fashion for 1986; Elsa Klensch, the style editor of Cable News Network - bringing fashion to television; and Elle magazine.^[31]

Reportedly the CFDA's first "International Award" was given to Gianni Versace in 1992^[45][46] although it was previously reported that Christian Lacroix received the CFDA's first international award in 1986^[31][40] and that Yves Saint Laurent received a CFDA international award in 1981.^[21][33] Princess Diana attended the awards in January 1995 to present a special award to her friend Elizabeth Tilberis, the British-born Editor-in-Chief of Harper's Bazaar.^[47][48][49]

In 1997, for the first time, the CFDA did not release all of the award winners before the awards ceremony. The nominees of the "Perry Ellis Awards" were announced at a press conference in November 1997 but the winners were not named until the February 1998 awards ceremony.^[50][51] In 1999, the date of the event was changed from January to June^[20] when the awards were televised for the first time, as the 18th Annual American Fashion Awards on E! Entertainment Television, marking the beginning of a five-year partnership with General Motors.^[52][53]

CFDA Fashion Award winners

Year	Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award	Womenswear Designer	Menswear Designer	Accessory Designer	Perry Ellis Award for New Talent	International Award	Notes
1990	Martha Graham	Donna Karan	Joseph Abboud	Manolo Blahnik	Christian Francis Roth	none	[54]
1991	Ralph Lauren	Isaac Mizrahi	Roger Forsythe for Perry Ellis	Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel	Todd Oldham	none	[55][56][57]
1992	Pauline Trigère	Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis	Donna Karan	Chrome Hearts	Anna Sui	Gianni Versace ( Italy)	[45][46]
1993	Judith Leiber and Polly Allen Mellen	Calvin Klein	Calvin Klein	none	Richard Tyler (womenswear); John Bartlett (menswear)	Prada (accessories) ( Italy)	[58][59][60]
1994	Carrie Donovan, Bernadine Morris, and Nonnie Moore	Richard Tyler	none	Robert Lee Morris (womenswear); Gene Meyer (menswear)	Victor Alfaro and Cynthia Rowley (tie) (womenswear); Robert Massimo Freda (menswear)	none	[49][32][61]
1995	Hubert de Givenchy	Ralph Lauren	Tommy Hilfiger	Hush Puppies	Marie-Anne Oudejans for Tocca (womenswear); Richard Tyler and Richard Edwards (by Richard Bengtsson and Edward Pavlick) (tie) (menswear); Kate Spade (accessories)	Tom Ford for Gucci	[62][32]
1996	Arnold Scaasi	Donna Karan	Ralph Lauren	Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co	Daryl Kerrigan for Daryl K (womenswear); Gene Meyer (menswear); Kari Sigerson and Miranda Morrison for Sigerson Morrison (accessories)	Helmut Lang ( Austria)	[63][64]
1997	Geoffrey Beene	Marc Jacobs	John Bartlett	Kate Spade	Narciso Rodriguez (womenswear); Sandy Dalal (menswear)	John Galliano ( Great Britain) for Dior	[50][51]
1999	Yves Saint Laurent	Michael Kors	Calvin Klein	Marc Jacobs	Josh Patner and Bryan Bradley for Tuleh (womenswear); Matt Nye (menswear); Tony Valentine (accessories)	Yohji Yamamoto ( Japan)	[53]

Other awards:

• 1990: Eugenia Sheppard Award for fashion journalism - Genevieve Buck, fashion editor of The Chicago Tribune. Special awards went to Emilio Pucci for design and color genius, and Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, for contribution to fashion. Special tribute to Roy Halston Frowick.^[54]
• 1991: Women of the Arts awards went to actress Anjelica Huston, opera singer Jessye Norman, and dancer/choreographer Judith Jamison. Eugenia Sheppard Award - Marylou Luther of the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. Special awards went to Harley Davidson for bringing motorcycle leather jackets and bike accessories into the mainstream of fashion, and Marvin Traub, former chairman of Bloomingdale's, for retail innovation.^[55][56]
• 1992: Special awards went to Audrey Hepburn for a Lifetime of Style and her commitment to the children of the world, Steven Meisel for photography, and Patrick O'Connell for the Ribbon Project of Visual AIDS.^[45][46]
• 1993: Eugenia Sheppard Award - New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham; special award for sneakers shared by Converse, Adidas, Keds, Nike and Reebok; and special award for art direction for Fabien Baron, creative director of Harper's Bazaar. Salute to CFDA founder Eleanor Lambert.^[58]
• 1994: Eugenia Sheppard Award - Patrick McCarthy, executive vice president of Fairchild Publications. Special awards went to Elizabeth Tilberis, editor in chief of Harper’s Bazaar, for contribution to the fashion industry^[49]/editorial achievement;^[65] Sara Lee Corp. for "The Year of the Wonderbra"; and Kevyn Aucoin for "The Artistry of Makeup." Special tribute to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for her “lifetime of style and grace and influence on American fashion.”^[49]
• 1995: Lifetime of Style Award - Lauren Bacall; Eugenia Sheppard Award - Suzy Menkes of International Herald Tribune; The Dom Perignon Award for Humanitarian Leadership - Bill Blass. Special awards went to Isaac Mizrahi and Douglas Keeve for the film Unzipped, for bringing the fashion world into the theater; and Robert Isabell for floral design.^[62][66]
• 1996: Dom Perignon award for Humanitarian Leadership - Kenneth Cole; Eugenia Sheppard award - New York Times fashion critic Amy Spindler; and special award for “furthering fashion as art and culture" - Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute's curator Richard Martin and associate curator Harold Koda.^[63][64]
• 1997: Lifetime of Glamour Award - Elizabeth Taylor; Dom Perignon Award for Humanitarian Leadership - Ralph Lauren; Stiletto Award - Manolo Blahnik; Global Influence on Fashion - Anna Wintour; and Lifetime Tribute Award^[50][67] (or Lifetime Recognition Award)^[68][69] - John Fairchild, retired chairman and editorial director of Fairchild Publications. Special tributes for Princess Diana and Gianni Versace.^[50]
• 1999: Lifetime of Glamour Award - Sophia Loren; Influence on Fashion Award - Cher; Humanitarian Award (posthumous) - Liz Tilberis; Eugenia Sheppard Award - Elsa Klensch of CNN;^[52] Timeless Talent Award - Betsey Johnson;^[70] Window on Fashion Award - Simon Doonan; and award “for putting the spotlight on Hollywood and fashion” - InStyle magazine.^[53][71]

The CFDA's first "Fashion Icon Award" was given to American socialite C.Z. Guest in 2002.^[72][73] The award was given to Nicole Kidman in 2003^[74] and to Sarah Jessica Parker in 2004.^[75][76] The CFDA decided to forgo the award in 2005, and instead gave the "Award for Fashion Influence" to Kate Moss.^[76][77] In 2002, the CFDA Fashion Awards also began a 17-year partnership with Swarovski that ended in 2019.^[20][78][79] In 2003, the awards for new designer talent, formerly known as the "Perry Ellis Awards," were renamed "Swarovski’s Perry Ellis Awards" and included a monetary prize for the first time to reflect the sponsorship.^[80][32]

CFDA Fashion Award winners

Year	Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award	Womenswear Designer	Menswear Designer	Accessory Designer	Emerging Talent Award	International Award	Fashion Icon	Notes
2023	Maria Cornejo	Catherine Holstein for Khaite	Willy Chavarria	Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row	Diotima	Jonathan Anderson ( Great Britain) for JW Anderson and Loewe	Serena Williams	[124][125]

• 2014: Paul Andrew (Winner),^[126] Wes Gordon, Edie Parker and Simon Miller
• 2015: Becca McCharen-Tran of Chromat; Rio Uribe of Gypsy Sport (Winner)^[127]
• 2017: Chromat:^[128] Becca McCharen-Tran (Runner Up), Telfar Clemens (Winner)^[129]
• 2018: Kerby Jean-Raymond (Winner)^[130][131]
• 2019: Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough of Abasi Rosborough; Alejandra Alonso Rojas; Victor Barragan of Barragán; Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada, Danielle Hirsch of Danielle Frankel; Raffaella Hanley of Lou Dallas; Siying Qu and Haoran Li of Private Policy; Reese Cooper; Natalie Ratabesi of Tre by Natalie Ratabesi; and Christopher John Rogers (Winner)^[132]

2023 Return to Old Format

• 2023: Kim Shui; Kozaburo Akasaka of Kozaburo; Melitta Baumeister (Winner);^[5] Sami Miro of Sami Miro Vintage; Fletcher Kasell and Tanner Richie of Tanner Fletcher; Everard Best and Téla D’Amore of Who Decides War; and Henry Zankov of Zankov (Runner Up).^[5]

Established in 2024, the CFDA partners with Tiffany & Co. for the stated purpose of recognizing and uplifting outstanding American jewelry designers who are committed to driving inclusivity with the design industry. Awarded recipients are selected by a committee of industry experts. ^[133]

2020s Finalists

• 2024: Angie Marei, David Perry, Ian Delucca, Jameel Mohammed, Hi Vu, Maggi Simpkins, Malyia McNaughton, Marvin Linares, Pamela Zamore, Symoné Currie ^[134]

The 4.0 class (2016–2018) of the {FASHION INCUBATOR} includes Alexandra Alvarez of Alix, Aurora James of Brother Vellies, Charles Youssef, Daniel DuGoff of Ddugoff, Tim Joo and Dan Joo of Haerfest, Jason Alkire and Julie Alkire of Haus Alkire, Ji Oh, Katie deGuzman and Michael Miller of K/ller Collection, Thaddeus O’Neil, and Molly Yestadt of Yestadt Millinery.^[135]

The Fashion Manufacturing Initiative (FMI) is an investment fund to help revitalize New York City's garment industry. The program offers matching financial grants to New York City's fashion manufacturing production facilities.

In March 2018, the CFDA and NYCA announced that the following seven production facilities would receive a combined total of $480,000 in the fifth round of FMI grants: Atelier Amelia, Sunrise Studio, In Style USA, Mudo Fashion, New York Embroidery Studio, Season Wash, and Werkstatt.^[136]

Fashion Targets Breast Cancer® (FTBC), a charitable initiative of the CFDA/CFDA Foundation, seeks to raise public awareness and funds for the breast cancer cause.

The Fashion Targets Breast Cancer name and symbol were created by Ralph Lauren and subsequently entrusted to the CFDA Foundation. FTBC was first presented in the U.S. in the spring of 1994 during New York Fashion Week, and was formally launched in September 1994 at a special White House reception hosted by then-First Lady Hillary Clinton. During this initial campaign, 400,000 FTBC shirts were sold, raising $2 million to benefit the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Health at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center.^[137]

Since 2011, the council has led an annual campaign to promote the initiative and partners with well known fashion icons. In 2017, Fabletics partnered with Fashion Targets Breast Cancer to produce an activewear collection. A portion of all sales for the collection would be donated to target breast cancer screening and treatment.^[138][139]

The CFDA has published the following books, listed in order by publish date:

• American Fashion Home
• American Travel
• Scheips, Charlie (2007). American Fashion. Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Assouline Publishing. ISBN 978-2759401611.
• Hastreiter, Kim; Beene, Geoffrey (2008). Geoffrey Beene: An American Fashion Rebel. Assouline Publishing. ISBN 9782759402663.
• Pratts Price, Candy; Glasscock, Jessica; Tavee, Art (2008). American Fashion Accessories. Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Assouline Publishing. ISBN 9782759402861.
• Marsh, Lisa; Stewart, Martha (2009). American Fashion Cookbook. Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Assouline Publisher. ISBN 9782759404056.
• Bryan, Robert E. (2009). American Fashion Menswear. Assouline Publishing. ISBN 9782759404094.
• Suqi, Rima A. (2010). American Fashion Designers at Home. Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Assouline Publishing. ISBN 9782759404711.
• Mears, Patricia (2012). IMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA. Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-1419702310.
• Von Furstenberg, Diane; Alba, Jessica (2014). The Pursuit of Style: Advice and Musings from America's Top Fashion Designers. Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-1419706219.
• Systrom, Kevin; Kolb, Steven (2015). Designers on Instagram: #fashion. Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-1419715587.
• Moore, Booth (2018). American Runway: 75 Years of Fashion and the Front Row. Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-1419726484.

• Official website

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