Across the pond, on Monday 3 November the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers America) held their 44th annual awards ceremony. Hosted by Teyana Taylor, the event recognised designers in a variety of categories from an overall ‘Designer of the Year’ to innovation and media. With Amazon Fashion playing host and the American Museum of Natural History as the venue, the night was certain to be opulent. Alongside this there was no shortage of A-listers in attendance, showing their appreciation for the fashion industry: a clear marker of its influence on the world of media.
Nominees for American Womenswear Designer of the Year were Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera; Rachel Scott for Diotima; Daniella Kallmeyer for Kallmeyer; Ralph Lauren and Tory Burch, for their own labels. It was Lauren himself who took home this award for his classy blue and brown ‘office chic’ looks embellished with buttons and slim point heels. Thom Browne was then awarded American Menswear Designer of the Year from nominees Mike Amiri for Amiri; Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta for Eckhaus Latta; Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row and Willy Chavarria for his own brand. It was the latter’s 2026 S/S men’s collection that won him this award, which featured grey, white and red plaid suits and androgynous skirts. While narrowly missing out on the menswear award, the Olsen twins won the prize for American Accessory Designer of the Year for their signature quiet luxury handbag designs.
A fashion industry event wouldn’t be complete without the cascading group of celebs that follow, taking any excuse to show off their own expensive style. Best dressed that evening had to be model Alex Consani who was photographed in a floor length black Michael Kors dress with a black feather jacket in hand. The dress was accompanied by two gold Tiffany cuffs—giving the look an air of edge as well as elegance—and her bleached blonde hair was swept into a bouncy blow out, chicly framing her face. Other notable looks included Rihanna in head-to-toe Chanel – a navy blue asymmetrical trench coat tied at the waist, exposing white pleated trousers and black pointed toe loafers. Finally model and actor Alton Mason attended in a deep blue, textured oversized suit with bold shoulder pads and pleated trousers. The suit was paired with a blue shirt left effortlessly half-undone, pointed-toe patent loafers, as well as a dazzling display of bling and large frame sunglasses: sending the look from office attire to red-carpet chic.
Stay tuned until next year to see who will take home these prestigious awards for their 2026/27 collections.
Image by Karly Jones on Unsplash.
