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The Council of Fashion Designers of America has named the nominees and honourees for its 2026 Fashion Awards, presented by Amazon Fashion. Keke Palmer will host the ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History on Monday, 2 November, 2026.
The American Womenswear Designer of the Year nominees are Catherine Holstein for Khaite, Michael Kors, Rachel Scott for Diotima, Tory Burch, and Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera. Ralph Lauren, who won the womenswear title in 2025, isn’t among this year’s nominees in that category, but he shows up on the menswear list. Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne for Public School New York, Thom Browne, Todd Snyder, and Willy Chavarria are other contenders for the menswear title.
On the accessory side, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are nominated again for The Row, the label that earned them last year’s win. They face competition from Ana Khouri, Raul Lopez for Luar, Sophie Buhai, and Stuart Vevers for Coach.
The Google American Emerging Designer of the Year nominees are Colleen Allen, Emily Dawn Long, Julia Ferentinos for Juju Vera, Julian Louie for Aubero, and Zane Li for Lii.
According to CFDA, Tory Burch will receive the Positive Change Award for using the Tory Burch Foundation to create meaningful change for women and widen their access to funding, education, and mentorship. Last year, Amber Valletta and Ariana DeBose presented the Positive Change Award to Donatella Versace.
Photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin will receive the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award. Over four decades, the pair has produced editorials, advertisements, portraits, and artistic work.
Anthony Vaccarello takes the International Designer of the Year Award, succeeding Pieter Mulier, who won it in 2025 for his contributions and creative leadership at Alaïa. Vaccarello is celebrating his tenth year as Saint Laurent’s creative director, and CFDA is awarding him for his significant contributions to the house’s global influence and cultural significance.
Eva Chen will receive the Eugenia Sheppard Media Award, taking over from W Magazine’s Sara Moonves, who won it last year and received it from Jennifer Lawrence. CFDA is recognising Chen’s work at Meta, which helped bridge the gap between fashion and technology and encouraged dialogue among designers, creators, brands, and audiences.
Linda Fargo will take the Founder’s Award in honour of Eleanor Lambert, marking her thirty years at Bergdorf Goodman. Last year, Julianne Moore presented the Founder’s Award to Cynthia Rowley, and this year, Fargo wins it for her unique visual storytelling style and for promoting American fashion.
Susan Cianciolo will receive the Isabel Toledo Board of Directors’ Tribute for her RUN collection. CFDA sees it as an early example of sustainable fashion and community, combining handcraft with live performances, films, installations, and even food.
Notably absent from this year’s list of honours are two categories handed out in 2025: the Fashion Icon Award, which went to A$AP Rocky, and the Innovation Award, won by Jerry Lorenzo. Neither appears among the honourees announced so far, though the CFDA has said further ceremony details, including presenters and performers, are still to come.
CFDA CEO and President Steven Kolb called the ceremony “a defining moment of American creativity,” one that brings the industry together to recognise the designers and creative figures pushing it forward. The nominees and winners in the American Womenswear, Menswear, Accessory Design and Emerging Designer of the Year categories are chosen by the CFDA Fashion Awards Guild. Fashion editors and journalists, retail executives, stylists, influencers, CFDA member designers, and other industry professionals make up this invite-only body.
A new addition to this year’s ceremony is WYouth and Nuuly presenting the Student Viewing Section, bringing current CFDA scholars and fashion students directly into the formal award ceremony.
CFDA’s Vogue Fashion Fund dinner will be on 20 October. The programme, in its 23rd year, helped launch designers such as Thom Browne, Proenza Schouler, and Christopher John Rogers.
CFDA is also partnering with Rockefeller Center and Genesys for the third year of NYFW Live at Rockefeller Center. This streaming initiative opens the American collections at New York Fashion Week to consumer audiences beyond the industry crowd. From 10 through 15 September, the complex will be the only place, on-site or online, where the public can watch NYFW shows unfold.
The official ambassadors to NYFW Live at Rockefeller Center are Honey Dijon, Sebastián Yatra, and Becky G. Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors Collection, Tory Burch, Calvin Klein Collection, Carolina Herrera, and Bibhu Mohapatra are some of the runways streaming during the six-day fashion event.
New York Fashion Week’s official Spring/Summer 2027 schedule opens today, 10 September, running through 15 September. The season kicks off with CFDA member Henry Zankov’s runway debut as artistic director of Diane von Furstenberg and closes with Thom Browne, with roughly 70 runway shows and presentations across the six days.
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