CFDA Announces 2015 Award Nominees

The Council of Fashion Designers of America announced the nominees and honorees for the 2015 CFDA Fashion Awards at an exclusive event hosted by CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg and Nadja Swarovski at the Weather Room at Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center.

The 2015 CFDA Fashion Awards in collaboration with Swarovski will take place on June 1st at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center.

Von Furstenberg started the proceedings by thanking Nadja Swarovski and Swarovski for their continued collaboration with the CFDA in support of American Fashion. Von Furstenberg, CFDA CEO Steven Kolb and Peter Arnold, Swarovski SVP for corporate branding and communications, North America, and global licensing, then announced the 2015 nominees and honorees.

The nominees for the Womenswear Designer of the Year Award are Joseph Altuzarra for Altuzarra, Marc Jacobs,Michael Kors, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough for Proenza Schouler, and Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row. The Menswear Designer of the Year Awardnominees are Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne for Public School, David Neville and Marcus Wainwright for Rag & Bone,Thom Browne, Tim Coppens, and Tom Ford. For the Accessory Designer of the Year Award the nominees are Alexander Wang, Irene Neuwirth, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler, Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row, and Tabitha Simmons.

Rosie Assoulin, Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne for Public School, and Ryan Roche have been nominated for the Swarovski Award for Womenswear. The nominees for the Swarovski Award for Menswear are Shayne Oliver for Hood by Air, Alex Orley, Matthew Orley and Samantha Orley for Orley, and Ariel and Shimon Ovadia for Ovadia & Sons. For the Swarosvki Award for Accessory Design, the nominees are Paul Andrew, Eva Zuckerman for Eva Fehren, and Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel for Mansur Gavriel.

The Swarovski Award recipients in each category will receive generous financial support from Swarovski as well as exposure to the company's vast and innovative Swarovski crystal resources.

The honorary awards go to a diverse group of fashion luminaries. The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, named for the fiercely independent, four-time CFDA Fashion Award winner, will be presented to Betsey Johnson.

The Media Award, given in Honor of Eugenia Sheppard, the influential journalist who revolutionized fashion reporting during her time at the New York City Herald Tribune, will be given to Instagram.

The Founders Award, given in Honor of CFDA founder Eleanor Lambert who is widely credited with putting American fashion on the map, will go to Millard "Mickey" Drexler, chairman and CEO of J.Crew Group, Inc.

The International Award will go to Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli of Valentino for their creative contribution to the international fashion stage.

Nominations for each award category were submitted by the CFDA Fashion Awards Guild, made up of the 450+ members of the CFDA, along with top fashion retailers, journalists, and stylists. The nominees, as well as recipients of the honorary awards, were confirmed earlier today at a meeting of the CFDA Board of Directors.

The official sponsors of the 2015 CFDA Fashion Awards include:

Official Automotive Sponsor: Lexus

Official Beauty Sponsor: MAC Cosmetics

Official Champagne Partner: Veuve Clicquot

Official Spirits Sponsor: Maestro Dobel