This year’s Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards took place last night in New York City with Rihanna and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen taking prizes. Here’s our list of the big winners.
Womenswear Designer of the Year – Joseph Altuzarra
For his first nomination in the main category, Altuzarra beat off competition from Alexander Wang and Marc Jacobs. The French-American designer previously won the Swarovski Award for Womenswear in 2012.
Menswear Designer of the Year – Public School
Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow of Public School took home the menswear prize this year for their streetwear-inspired pieces, which won over the judges ahead of fellow New Yorkers Thom Browne, and Marcus Wainwright and David Neville of Rag & Bone.
Accessories Designer of the Year – The Row
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen fended off competition from Alexander Wang and Proenza Schouler duo Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez to win the accessories prize.
Swarovski Awards – Creatures of the Wind, Tim Coppens, Irene Neuwirth
In addition to the three main categories, the Swarovski Awards were also awarded for emerging talents. Shane Gabier and Christopher Peters won the womenswear prize for their Creatures of the Wind collection; Tim Coppens won in the menswear category; and Irene Neuwirth was rewarded for her accessories.
Tom Ford was presented with the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, while the International Award went to Belgian designer Raf Simons for his work at Christian Dior. Fashion Icon of the Year Rihanna also turned up, arriving at the awards in a sheer custom-made Adam Selman look featuring 216,000 Swarovski crystals.
“I can compensate for all of my weaknesses with fashion,” Rihanna said during her acceptance speech. “Fashion should never be frustrating, it should be fun.
“As long as I can remember, fashion has been my defence mechanism.”
