Daily Front Row

2012 March 15

Shock du Shock! The CFDA Announces 2012 Awards Recipients and Nominees

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CFDA powerhouses Kolb and von Furstenberg
Billy Farrell/BFANYC.com View Gallery

(NEW YORK) It was an evening of surprises at DvF's studio, when the CFDA president and CFDA CEO Steven Kolb gathered the fashion cognoscenti to announce the 2012 CFDA Award nominees (and in certain cases, recipients). Without further ado:

Womenswear Designer of the Year Award nominees: Ashley Olsen & Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row, Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler, and Marc Jacobs

Menswear Designer of the Year nominees: Billy Reid, Patrik Ervell, and Simon Spurr.

Accessory Designer of the Year Award nominees: Alexander Wang, Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler, and Reed Krakoff. 

Swarovski Award for Womenswear nominees: Chris Peters & Shane Gabier for Creatures of the Wind, Joseph Altuzarra, and Max Osterweis & Erin Beatty for Suno

Swarovski Award for Menswear nominees: Antonio Azzuolo, Phillip Lim, and Todd Snyder

Swarovski Award for Accessory Design: Irene Neuwirth, Pamela Love, and Tabitha Simmons

The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Tommy Hilfiger. 

The Media Award, given in honor of Eugenia Sheppard, will be bestowed upon Scott Schuman & Garance Doré. 

The Fashion Icon Award will given to Johnny Depp, the first male recipient to receive the award.

The Founders Award, given in honor of CFDA founder Eleanor Lambert, belongs to Andrew Rosen. 

The International Award will draw Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons to Lincoln Center.

The analysis: First things first, the Johnny Depp idea was brilliant and completely unexpected. (Unlike the meritous but predictable Lady Gaga, who received it last year and spent the entire Awards ceremony behind this reporter, who couldn't help but wonder how she was sitting comfortably in that spiked thong.) And while The Row's nod in the evening's main race may come as a surprise, it really shouldn't—The Row is among the top-sellers at department stores (have you seen the massive space devoted to its collections at Bergdorf Goodman? Akin in size to the Dries boutique). And the internet is sure to go wild with the Schuman/Doré nod, which implies journalistic cred (and responsibility) among bloggers everywhere. This original duo was at the forefront of the street style phenomenon, from which a veritable cottage industry has emerged. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners—and may the odds be forever in your favor on Monday, June 4th at Lincoln Center.
ASHLEY BAKER