KERBY JEAN-RAYMOND, KIM JONES AMONG WINNERS AT CFDA FASHION AWARDS

by Stephen Garner

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) hosted a very different CFDA Fashion Awards this year.

Originally scheduled for Monday, June 8th, the in-person event was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Recognizing the importance to still honor the best talents in fashion, chairman of the CFDA Board Tom Ford announced the winners on Monday in a video that premiered on Runway360, CFDA’s new digital platform, and CFDA’s social channels.

Nominees and winners were determined by the CFDA Awards Guild which is comprised of CFDA members, leading fashion journalists, stylists, and top retail executives.

Kerby Jean-Raymond, the founder and designer of Pyer Moss won this year’s American Menswear Designer of the Year award, while Kim Jones won for the International Men’s Designer of the Year for his work at Dior.

Telfar Clemens won the American Accessories Designer of the Year award for his eponymous line Telfar, and Christopher John Rogers won the American Emerging Designer of the Year award.

In the womenswear categories, Gabriela Hearst won the American Womenswear Designer of the Year award, and Pierpaolo Piccioli won the International Women’s Designer of the Year award for his work at Valentino.

This is the first CFDA Fashion Award for each designer in the four American categories and represents the most diverse group of recipients in the 39-year history of the awards.

The CFDA Fashion Awards serve as the CFDA’s largest fundraiser for scholarships. In tandem with the 2020 winners’ announcement, the CFDA announced the recipients of the 2020 CFDA Scholar Awards. This year, the program increased its annual student awards from $100,000 to $175,000 across seven eligible $25,000 scholarships.

See the scholarship awards below:

CFDA Design Scholars: Chris Pleasant, Virginia Commonwealth University; Yanbing Fan, Academy of Art University; Honorable Mention: Kylie Carroll, Virginia Commonwealth University

CFDA/K11 Scholar (MFA/MA): Uyen Tran, Parsons School of Design; Honorable Mention: Evaristo Pereira, Savannah College of Art and Design

$25,000 CFDA/K11 Scholar (BFA/BA): Mohua Goswami, Fashion Institute of Technology; Honorable Mention: Yitao Li, Fashion Institute of Technology

CFDA Design Scholar Suntchi Image-Maker Award: Eliana Batsakis, School of Art Institute of Chicago; Honorable Mention: Sidonia Wu, Parsons School of Design

Liz Claiborne Design for Impactful Futures Scholar Award: Daniela Gutierrez Arreguin, Savannah College of Art and Design; Honorable Mention: Rashida Birdlong, Academy of Art University

Geoffrey Beene Design Masters Scholar Award: Milijana Delic, Academy of Art University; Honorable Mention: Camerin Stoldt, Fashion Institute of Technology