The CFDA Fashion Awards named Rachel Scott and Ralph Lauren as the top American designers of the year, according to a release from Cision PR Newswire. The Council of Fashion Designers of America, known as the CFDA, honored winners and honorees at the American Museum of Natural History.

Scott, recognized for her label Diotima, won American Womenswear Designer of the Year. Lupita Nyong’o and Francisco Costa presented the prize. Ralph Lauren’s menswear award was handed over by Matt Damon and Tremaine Emory.

Scott was one of five womenswear nominees, alongside Catherine Holstein for Khaite, Michael Kors, Tory Burch and Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera. Ralph Lauren faced Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne for Public School New York, Thom Browne, Todd Snyder and Willy Chavarria in the menswear field.

Naomi Osaka and Joseph Altuzarra announced Ana Khouri as American Accessory Designer of the Year. Cole Escola and Gabriela Hearst presented the Google Shopping American Emerging Designer of the Year award to Colleen Allen. Hailey Bieber, ROSÉ and Zoë Kravitz presented International Designer of the Year to Anthony Vaccarello.

In accessories, Khouri was nominated alongside Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen for The Row, Raul Lopez for Luar, Sophie Buhai and Stuart Vevers for Coach. The emerging designer field included Emily Dawn Long, Julia Ferentinos for Juju Vera, Julian Louie for Aubero and Zane Li for Lii, with Allen also in the running.

Who else was honored at the ceremony?

Cornelia Guest presented the Fashion Icon Award to Peter Marino, while Anna Wintour presented the Positive Change Award to Tory Burch. Demi Moore announced Gap Inc. as the recipient of the Innovation Award, presented by Amazon Fashion. Laufey presented the Media Award to Eva Chen, in honor of Eugenia Sheppard.

Linda Fargo received the Founder’s Award, given in honor of Eleanor Lambert, from Michael Kors. Susan Cianciolo was honored with the Isabel Toledo Board of Directors’ Tribute, presented by Adi Gil, Angela Donhauser and Gabriel Asfour of threeASFOUR. The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award went to Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.

Keke Palmer hosted the evening. CFDA Chairman Thom Browne welcomed honorees, nominees and guests at the start of the ceremony. VIP guests listed in the release included Adriana Lima, Alexa Chung, Ashley Graham and Megan Thee Stallion.

The release also listed more than 40 other designers in the running, including Christian Siriano, Jason Wu, Narciso Rodriguez, Vera Wang, Isaac Mizrahi and Kenneth Cole. Presenters beyond the winners’ categories included Lola Tung, and the VIP list also featured Brandy, Emily Ratajkowski, Gracie Abrams, Shaboozey and Simu Liu.

What does the new scholarship offer?

Sara Moonves paid tribute to the 30th anniversary of the CFDA Scholarship Fund and announced a new CFDA and WYouth Scholarship presented by Nuuly. It launches in 2027 and will provide funding for two students to pursue their education. The release does not say how those students will be chosen.

The CFDA is a not-for-profit trade association founded in 1962. It supports emerging designers and students through professional development programming, grants and scholarship opportunities. Its pillars include membership, diversity, equity, inclusion and sustainability in fashion.

Several partners were named in the release. Amazon Fashion is the presenting partner, Google backed the emerging designer award, M•A•C Cosmetics was the official beauty partner, Krug was the official champagne partner and Lincoln provided transportation, according to Cision PR Newswire. WYouth and Nuuly also presented the Student Viewing Section.

The next milestone the release lays out is the launch of the new scholarship in 2027.

Quick answers

When does the CFDA and WYouth Scholarship launch?
The CFDA and WYouth Scholarship, presented by Nuuly, launches in 2027. It will provide funding for two students to pursue their education, according to Cision PR Newswire.

Who hosted the 2026 CFDA Fashion Awards?
Keke Palmer served as the evening’s host, according to the CFDA release distributed by Cision PR Newswire.

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Source: Cision PR Newswire