“Fashion Is a Dream We Can All Live In”—The 2023 CFDA Awards Celebrate the Best of American Fashion
“I’ve been to the CFDA Fashion Awards many times,” said its chairman Thom Browne as he kicked off last night’s ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History. “I remember each time because I always remember what a privilege it is to be in this room.” But fashion doesn’t exist out of context, so Browne continued: “As we approached this evening, we carefully thought about the appropriateness of having a fashion celebration at a time like this, but tonight is about so much more than celebrating individuals, [it’s about] coming together as a collective to champion creativity, diversity, and inclusion within our American industry. I’m so proud to be American.” Apropos of that, Maria Cornejo, who was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her 25 years of work, offered a tearful acceptance speech: “I dedicate this award to peace and the many children that are voiceless, who will not have a lifetime.”
Last night marked Browne’s first Fashion Awards as chairman, and so he gave the ceremony a bit of a facelift. The Museum served as a fantastic backdrop. Dinner was in the Hall of Ocean Life, and the chicken pot pies on each plate were decorated with mini versions of the big blue whale that floated overhead. “You know how I like my shows, so I wanted it to be an iconic moment for the designers that deserve to be recognized,” said the chairman.
The museum didn’t just make for an iconic location, though. Its halls also put the evening in context as the industry honored the history of American fashion, with not one, but two special tributes: Mary J. Blige toasted the 50th anniversary of hip-hop by introducing a film by Hype Williams featuring Missy Elliott, LL Cool J, and Salt-N-Pepa; and Pat Cleveland, Stephen Burrows, and Bethann Hardison paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Versailles.
It was Thom’s debut, but the other Tom—as in Tom Ford—was also in the house. The former CFDA chairman returned to the stage to present his longtime business partner Domenico De Sole with the Founder’s Award in Honor of Eleanor Lambert, reminding everyone of De Sole’s wide-ranging footprint in the industry and his role as a mentor to many in the room. In his speech, the business maven thanked Ford, his family, and offered the evening’s most memorable line: “It’s much better in life to be lucky than to be smart.”
While Cornejo and De Sole celebrated a lifetime of work, Jonathan Anderson’s International Designer nod capped off an epic year that started with dressing Rihanna at the Super Bowl. Diotima’s Rachel Scott, meanwhile, is at the beginning of her own journey. Picking up the Emerging Designer Award, the Jamaican newcomer said, “for me to be seen means that the people of Jamaica and of the Caribbean are also being seen.”
It was diversity and the power of expressing one’s individuality that Serena Williams championed when accepting her Fashion Icon Award from Kim Kardashian. Ditto Willy Chavarria when he took the stage to receive the Award for Menswear Designer: “I think it’s important for us to incorporate humanity into what we do,” he said. “Fashion has always been so much about glamour, which we all want to do, but we can still do that by loving one another.”
Second—and even third—acts were a theme of the night. Gwyneth Paltrow scooped up the Innovation Award presented by Amazon Fashion for her 15 years of running. “I hope you see that we have all the power to forge our own paths, to be multihyphenates,” she said. Her words were echoed by Vera Wang, the former Vogue editor who received the Board of Directors’s Tribute for her contribution to the bridal category: “For a fashion veteran like myself who barely made it to the altar at 40, let alone spend 30 plus years creating wedding gowns, this is an unbelievable moment and as ironic as it is miraculous,” Wang said.
Mara Hoffman was also recognized for her reinvention; she pivoted her label from a successful swimsuit business to the sustainable-first enterprise it is today, and received the Environmental Sustainability Award from Rosario Dawson for her efforts. And Khaite’s Catherine Holstein just keeps gaining momentum; she won the Womenswear Designer of the Year Award for the second year in a row.
“Fashion, like all creative acts, is a sign of culture, which is to say, a sign of life,” said Anne Hathaway, the evening’s host. “The ability to express nuance with fabric is a gift you all possess which I value so deeply, and the ability to do so six times a year without repeating yourself and missing a beat? I’m in awe,” she added, much to the crowd’s delight. “Fashion is a dream we can all live in.” And now on to the next.
Photographed by Hunter Abrams1/54Charles Melton
Photographed by Hunter Abrams2/54Thom Browne
