Eric Gaskins Vol.011 Glamour, Glamour, Tou Jour Glamour!!!
Well Monday was another night in Glamourland. If only every night could be as glamorous, we’d all be floating on a cloud of Fabulosity! The CFDA Awards were bestowed on a number of great stars in Fashion’s firmament, some we all know well and some others who have burst blindingly bright on the scene. The awards are separated into categories that honor “new” talent and then there are the awards for the “BGOC’s”, which stand for the Big Girls /Guys on Campus. The most hotly contested awards tend to focus on the newbie’s, but this year there was a blending of the two in both groupings, cross-pollination, if you will.
The Best Menswear Award had Tom Ford, a past winner several years back, along with Michael Bastian and Rag and Bone. Rag and Bone took home the award which I found fitting. They are relatively new to the scene, Ford has won 5 CFDA awards over the last 15 years and Michael Bastian is the rich man’s Ralph, re-interpreting classic styles at hyper-inflated prices.
The Swarovski Award for Womenswear went to Jason Wu, the darling of the Beltway. His evening gowns have a youthful beauty shimmering in hothouse colors and often draped in sinuous chiffon or rustling tulle. His fellow nominees were Prabal Gurung and Joseph Altuzarra. Both Prabal and Joseph are precocious talents to watch with loads of ideas that push the envelope for evening and sportswear with a modernist’s hand.
There was a Special Tribute Award given to Alexander McQueen complete with a presentation on stage of his last collection completed days before his passing. That was by far the most awe-inspiring moment of the evening. With awards for Lifetime Achievement going to Michael Kors and the Living Icon award going to Iman, the audience was treated to some amusing anecdotes and lots of humility sprinkled with self-deprecation. The same can be said for Excellence in Editorship that went to Kim Hastreiter of Paper Magazine, which has pioneered the world of Indie Fashion/Style/Culture publishing. She’s a girl who has made a home on the front lines and always tells it like it is. That moment was perhaps the most life affirming of the evening. It’s great to see someone who works independently of the status quo.
The BGOC Awards were somewhat predictable, as they tend to focus on the same five or six brands. Best Womenswear was fought between Donna Karan (my choice and probably yours…), Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang. Marc took it home for the third or fourth time. It starts to become so predictable that one is tempted to go for a cigarette break or sneak across the courtyard to see what’s playing at the Met.
The Award for Best Accessories Design went to Alexis Bittar, a very talented and I must add an extremely gracious and charming man. Those attributes added to marvelous design talent are unusual in times where so little effort is expended and so many rewards are expected. For the second year in a row Ralph Lauren received the Popular Vote. Well, I guess the people have spoken, again!
It’s great to see hard workingwomen and men receive their due. The Glitterati were out in force. That’s to be expected when many of them are all too eager to attend the opening of a shopping bag. There wasn’t the frisson in the air like past years, but that could be because the mystery and excitement inherent in these occasions have become so exclusive. We all can thrill to these moments vicariously through the lens of the paparazzi. I applaud the winners of this the most prestigious award for the fashion industry. Despite my droll view at moments during the evening, it is the Academy Award and all winners and nominees are to be congratulated. Now it’s time to get back to the drawing board, cutting tables and turbo-charged sewing machines!
Eric Gaskins ….. The Emperors Old Clothes
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