At the 2026 CFDA Awards, a Celebration of Excellence in American Design

Chairman Thom Browne declared “American fashion is at the center of the world and at the center of the spirit of our time.”

On Monday evening, the corps d’élite of American fashion convened on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for the 2026 CFDA Awards. Held annually and considered “the Oscars of fashion,” the CFDAs award prizes for excellence in fashion design. This year’s festivities were hosted by Keke Palmer, who brought Hollywood glamour in vintage Bob Mackie once worn by Raquel Welch, at the American Museum of Natural History.

Among the the biggest, most anticipated awards of the night were American Designers of the Year, which went to Ralph Lauren for Menswear and Rachel Scott of Diotima for Womenswear. Neither was a stranger to the stage — this was Lauren’s 12th win overall, including having taken home the Womenswear prize just last year, and Scott’s third, including her second for Womenswear after winning Emerging Designer of the Year in 2023. Lauren, a titan of American fashion by any measure or definition, will in 2027 celebrate six decades in business. While accepting his award, he reflected how “Almost sixty years ago, I started with a tie, but it was never just about a tie. It was about doing what I loved and giving it my all. That tie became the beginning of a world and a way of living.” Rachel Scott, meanwhile, referenced the following day’s midterm elections: “In a world where independent and marginalized voices are systematically quieted, I feel extremely lucky and very, very responsible. And we have a lot of work to do, starting tomorrow morning.”

Other big winners included Ana Khouri for American Accessory Designer of the Year and Colleen Allen for the Google Shopping American Emerging Designer of the Year award, while Cornelia Guest announced Peter Marino as Fashion Icon and Anna Wintour presented Tory Burch with the Positive Change Award. Eva Chen was also an honoree, receiving the Media Award in honor of Eugenia Sheppard.

On the foreign front, International Designer of the Year went to Anthony Vaccarello for his tenure at Saint Laurent, one that is coming to an end after ten years. He was presented the award by Hailey Bieber, ROSÉ, and Zoë Kravitz, all clad in looks from his final collection. Theirs were far from the only famous faces in attendance. Other Hollywood presenters included Lupita Nyong’o, Matt Damon, Demi Moore, and musician Laufey. Also in attendance as guests were Gracie Abrams, Carrie Coon, Lili Reinhart, Megan Thee Stallion, Pamela Anderson, Olandria, Travis Scott, Tinashe, and countless other VIPs.

To close the evening, the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.