Earlier this year, the Council of Fashion Designers of America announced that it was calling off the in-person ceremony as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. At that point, nobody was surprised: with live events being cancelled left right and centre, 2020 has been a quiet one, so another award show getting postponed was nothing new. A rescheduled date for the CFDA Awards, now taking place virtually, has been set and on 14 September, winners of the design categories will be announced on CFDA.com and across the CFDA’s social media channels.
Yesterday, the Council revealed its list of nominees for this year. “In this time of unprecedented challenge and change for our industry, we feel very strongly that it is important to [recognise] the nominees representing the best of fashion creativity,” said Tom Ford, chairman of the CFDA, in a statement. However, rather than embracing the plethora of exciting new designers that have emerged from the US lately, the list looks fairly similar to previous years. The nominee list for American Womenswear Designer of the Year, for example, includes titans like Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford, who have each won multiple times before. And while a couple of new names make welcome appearances this year, virtually all categories consist of very familiar faces.
This year has been extremely tough for both brands and fashion designers, having experienced massive financial loss from production changes, cancelled orders and rescheduled catwalk shows. But at the same time, it has presented the industry with much-needed time to reflect, with some designers agreeing that the situation presents an opportunity to make fundamental changes. And that’s promising. It would have been exciting to have this new dynamic reflected in such an important award show. Where are the likes of i-D favourites Eckhaus Latta, Maryam and Vaquera? Next year, maybe?
See the complete list of nominees below:
Global Men’s Designer of the Year
Craig Green, Dries Van Noten, Jonathan Anderson for Loewe, Kim Jones for Dior, and Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton.
American Womenswear Designer of the Year
Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row, Gabriela Hearst, and Brandon Maxwell.
American Menswear Designer of the Year
Kerby Jean-Raymond for Pyer Moss, Thom Browne, Emily Adams Bode for Bode, Todd Snyder, and Tom Ford.
American Accessories Designer of the Year
Telfar Clemens for Telfar, Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row, Gabriela Hearst, Stuart Vevers for Coach, and Jennifer Fisher for Jennifer Fisher Jewelry.
American Emerging Designer of the Year
Peter Do, Christopher John Rogers, Kenneth Nicholson, Reese Cooper, and Sarah Staudinger and George Augusto for Staud.
Global Women’s Designer of the Year
Daniel Lee for Bottega Veneta, Dries Van Noten, Miuccia Prada for Prada, Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino, and Rick Owens.
Global Men’s Designer of the Year
Craig Green, Dries Van Noten, Jonathan Anderson for Loewe, Kim Jones for Dior, and Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton.