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American Originals
The CFDA moved its annual Fashion Awards nominating party from the rooftop gardens at Rockefeller Center to the second floor of Diane von Furstenberg‘s more intimate Meatpacking District digs. This meant that the evening’s nominees quite literally rubbed shoulders with the big crowd that came out to congratulate them—not that anyone seemed to mind. Perhaps it was the mild, pre-spring weather, but this year’s event didn’t clear out quite as quickly as it has in the past.
For Jason Wu, his Swarovski Award for Womenswear nomination (which he shares with Joseph Altuzarra and Prabal Gurung) was the cherry on top of an already outstanding couple of weeks. There was his meeting with First Lady Michelle Obama at the Smithsonian, of course, but what really had him smiling was the taping he did with The View a few hours earlier; he had the iPhone pic with Whoopi Goldberg to prove it. (Warm up your DVRs; it airs Friday.) “They had Carolina Herrera on last week,” Wu said, “and to be in that kind of company is really amazing.”
Michael Kors, on the other hand, was in a company of his own last night. How does the 50-year-old, whose business, believe it or not, will turn 30 next year, feel about receiving the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award? “I have to say, I still feel like a kid,” he said. “You go around being called a young designer forever, and the next thing you know, you’re at this point. But every day, there’s still something new.”
How’s this for something new? After winning the Swarovski Award for Womenswear last June, Alexander Wang has joined the big leagues. The 25-year-old is nominated alongside Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan for Womenswear Designer of the Year.
Burberry’s Christopher Bailey will receive the International Award, and the Board of Directors’ Special Tribute Award will go to the late Alexander McQueen.
Click for a complete list of the evening’s nominees >
—Nicole Phelps Continue reading
United Women
Diane von Furstenberg and Tina Brown celebrated International Women’s Day with the first-ever DVF Awards on Saturday night, decorating the United Nations’ fifties-era cafeteria with low-lying black and white graphic-print sofas and hot pink throw pillows. “I transformed the U.N. into a nightclub,” the designer joked. She also recruited bossa nova queen Bebel Gilberto to perform, but the evening attracted no ordinary crowd of night crawlers. Christiane Amanpour and Meryl Streep were presenters, while Charlie Rose, Iman, and NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly numbered among the guests.
Streep presented Ingrid Betancourt, a former senator of Colombia who was kidnapped by FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrillas during her presidential bid and held captive for over six years, with a $50,000 grant. “You know, I used to be a cheerleader,” the actress said. “I wish I could still do a double flip and a Chinese split, because I would cheer for these ladies.” Accepting her award, which will help her foundation fight social injustice, Betancourt replied, “I don’t know who’s more distinguished, the presenters or the winners.” Earlier, in the green room, she related a bit of her ordeal: “When I was abducted, one of the things that amazed me, even in that place in the jungle, was that the girls who were my guards managed to have their fashion. Fashion is very cultural, and it’s a way of expressing yourself. It’s one of the important things to get people together.” You don’t have to tell that to von Furstenberg and her hot pink pillows.
—Bee-Shyuan Chang Continue reading