The 2011 CFDA Fashion Awards

The 2011 CFDA Fashion Awards took place Monday, June 6 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center. For the tenth year in a row, Swarovski is the generous underwriter for the event. The annual event recognizes the outstanding contributions made to American fashion by individuals from all areas of the industry and related arts, with awards being given for design excellence in womenswear, menswear and accessories as well as extraordinary accomplishments in journalism, creative vision and lifetime achievement.

This year’s nominees and honorees reflect the depth of accomplishment of American fashion and acknowledge the pervasive influence that a new generation of talent is having on the industry while also celebrating the masters of design.

The following are the nominees of each category. The award winners are highlighted:

WOMENSWEAR DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
Alexander Wang
Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler
Marc Jacobs

MENSWEAR DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
Michael Bastian
Patrik Ervell
Simon Spurr

ACCESSORY DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
Alexander Wang
Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler
Reed Krakoff

SWAROVSKI AWARD FOR WOMENSWEAR
Joseph Altuzarra
Ashley Olsen & Mary-Kate Olsen
Prabal Gurung

SWAROVSKI AWARD FOR MENSWEAR
Alexander Wang
Phillip Lim
Robert Geller

SWAROVSKI AWARD FOR ACCESSORY DESIGN
Alejandro Ingelmo
Eddie Borgo
Jason Wu
Pamela Love

INTERNATIONAL AWARD
Phoebe Philo for Celine

MEDIA AWARD, given in honor of Eugenia Sheppard
Hilary Alexander

FOUNDERS AWARD, given in honor of Eleanor Lambert, the CFDA’s founder
Hal Rubenstein

FASHION ICON AWARD
Lady Gaga

GEOFFREY BEENE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Marc Jacobs

BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ SPECIAL TRIBUTE
Arthur Elgort

“There is no other event that puts the spotlight on American fashion like The CFDA Fashion Awards,” said Steven Kolb, CFDA executive director. “We look forward to once again honoring the best and brightest talent working today. Winning a CFDA Fashion Award is the highest and one of the most coveted honors one can receive in our industry. All of this is made possible by the long-time support of Swarovski, who we are pleased to be celebrating our tenth anniversary with this year. Their support and involvement with the Awards over the years has been invaluable.”

“This year, Swarovski is honored to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our partnership with the CFDA Fashion Awards,” said Nadja Swarovski, Vice President of International Communications & Creative Director. “We are excited for each of this year’s stellar nominees; the group includes such diverse and extraordinary talent. We are particularly proud of each designer nominated for a Swarovski Award. They are the perfect example of emerging American design talent and have displayed a keen sense for the future of fashion.”

Recently, to recognize Geoffrey Beene’s unparalleled contribution to American fashion, the lifetime achievement award was renamed in his honor. Some of the most coveted CFDA Fashion Awards given are the Swarovski Awards for womenswear, menswear, and accessory design, which were established in 1986 by Perry Ellis to honor emerging talent.

Nominations for each award category are submitted by the CFDA Fashion Awards Selection Committee, made up of the 370+ members of the CFDA, along with top fashion retailers, journalists, and stylists. The nominees, as well as recipients of the honorary awards are ratified by the CFDA Board of Directors.

For more information please email c.olsen@cfda.com

Courtesy CFDA