The CFDA Fashion Awards for American Menswear Designer of the Year was awarded to Emily Bode Augila, while Christopher John Rogers took home Womenswear Designer of the Year Award.
Hosted by actress Emily Blunt, the event was held on Wednesday (November 10, 2021) evening at The Pool + The Grill in Manhattan’s Seagram Building. Prior to the event, Zendaya was announced as the event’s fashion icon and she lit up the red carpet in a midriff-baring cherry red Vera Wang gown.
The 2021 CFDA Fashion Awards also featured several honoree awards with the very deserving Dapper Dan awarded the the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award. CFDA selected Aurora James for for the Founder’s Award for establishing The 15 Percent Pledge, a non-profit organization that encourages retailers to pledge at least 15 percent of their shelf-space to Black-owned businesses.
While the organization has set out to take a more inclusive approach, it’s worth noting that James is the first Black woman to take home a CFDA award, and even then, the prize was selected by CFDA’s board of directors not the membership, which votes for the main prizes.
Rogers took the prize in a category that included Catherine Holstein for Khaite, Gabriela Hearst, Peter Do and seemingly perennial nominee Marc Jacobs. Within the men’s category, Aujila faced off against Jerry Lorenzo for Fear of God, Mike Amiri for Amiri, Telfar Clemens of Telfar and Thom Browne, another frequently nominated designer.
Prior to landing CFDA’s top awards, Rogers had won the CFDA/Vogue 2019 Fashion fund prize, while Aujla had won emerging designer of the year at the 2019 awards.
Within accessories, Telfar took home the award for a second year in a row, rising above Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row, Aurora James for Brother Vellies, Gabriela Hearst and Stuart Vevers for Coach.
Edvin Thompson for Theophilio was selected as American emerging designer of the year, in a field that included Eli Russell Linnetz for ERL, Jameel Mohammed for Khiry and Kenneth Nicholson and Maisie Schloss for Maisie Wilen.
Balenciaga designer Demna Gvasalia took home the International Women’s Designer of the Year, topping a field of nominees including Daniel Lee for Bottega Veneta, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons for Prada, Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino and Simon Porte Jacquemus for Jacquemus.
Grace Wales Bonner for Wales Bonner was selected as International Men’s Designer of the Year, a field that included also featured Lee, along with Dries Van Noten, Rick Owens, and Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton.
