The style industry’s obsession with celebrities was on full display Monday night on the 2023 CFDA Fashion Awards presented by Amazon Fashion.

Crowding into the Hall of Ocean Life on the American Museum of Natural History were A-listers including Serena Williams, Mary J. Blige, Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, Martha Stewart, Jenna Lyons, Kim Kardashian, Jordan Roth, Coco Rocha, Ashley Graham, Chloë Sevigny, Jane Krakowski, Cynthia Erivo, Madelyn Cline, Molly Ringwald and Anne Hathaway, the host of the evening’s festivities.

The event, which began at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails, lasted until somewhat after 10:30 p.m., and included a sit-down dinner of Chicken Pot Pie, an Anna Wintour favorite that was for a few years served at CFDA galas. After a temporary introduction by CFDA chairman Thom Browne, there was a whole lot of sitting around before dinner was served — with people getting out of their seats and attempting to mill around, even though it was difficult to maneuver with so many individuals. Some guests felt that point might need been higher spent getting the awards portion underway.

Amongst the massive winners of the night was Catherine Holstein, designer and founding father of Khaite, who was once more named the American Womenswear Designer of the 12 months. She won last yr too.

Willy Chavarria took home the American Menswear Designer of the 12 months, while Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen of The Row, who were no-shows, were again awarded the American Accessory Designer of the 12 months, racking up their fourth win within the category. The Shop with Google American Emerging Designer of the 12 months award went to designer Rachel Scott of Diotima.

“I’m so energized by all the brand new talent here in America,” Thom Browne, chairman of the CFDA, told WWD. “I took on the chairmanship to steer by example, and what I’m seeing on this recent generation is so energizing.”

“How fortunate we’re to do what we wish to do on a regular basis and that we get to surround ourselves with past and present designers of American fashion,” Browne said during his remarks, acknowledging former leaders of the CFDA, several of whom were within the room: Stan Herman, Diane von Furstenberg and Tom Ford.

Some 440 people attended the style awards, whose dress code was “American Blacktie.” Designers, executives and retailers, including Tony Spring, Lana Todorovich, Mindy Grossman, Todd Snyder, Reed Krakoff, Kenneth Cole, Tory Burch, Pierre-Yves Roussel, David Lauren, Aurora James, Stacey Bendet Eisner, Wes Gordon, Jason Wu, Christian Siriano, Jonathan Simkhai, Jeffrey Banks and Gary Wassner were in attendance.

Browne said he’s been to the CFDA awards over and over, but as this was his first yr presiding over the ceremony, he thought in regards to the appropriateness of a fashion celebration during a period of world tumult.

“Tonight feels a bit different. For me it’s the primary time I’m presiding over the ceremony as chairman of the CFDA,” he said.

“Tonight is about so way more than celebrating individuals,” said Browne, adding it’s about celebrating creativity, diversity and inclusion of the industry, noting that the American fashion industry is essentially the most diverse on the earth.

Once dinner was over, Anne Hathaway, the evening’s host, took the stage, joking that she was “Sarah Jessica Parker’s understudy,” or as the web refers to her, “not Amal Clooney.” Hathaway took over the role after Parker needed to step down as a consequence of unexpected circumstances.

Hathaway noted the room was crammed with many first-name stars, resembling Gwyneth, Vera, Mary J., Tom, “Thom with an h,” Kim, Serena and Anna.

Naomi Watts gave out the Media Award in honor of Eugenia Sheppard to Alina Cho, the primary Asian recipient of the award, calling her “vibrant and gregarious” and “super chic with incredible taste.” She said as a reporter, she’s dynamic and tireless and obsessive find the true heart of the story. Watts noted Cho has journeyed inside North Korea twice and has interviewed every notable name within the industry. Next yr, Cho will have fun her tenth anniversary of “Atelier Talks,” on the Museum of Modern Art.

“That video is a ‘This Is Your Life’ in hairstyles,” quipped Cho, saying she fell in love with fashion as a seven-year-old, and have become obsessive about Olivia Newton John’s skin-tight leggings in “Grease.”

“The issue was they weren’t available in my size.…It was clear in that moment that fashion and I might have a lifelong love affair,” she said. She added growing up there weren’t many individuals who looked like her, and when she dressed up, she felt like she belonged.

In accepting his American Menswear of the 12 months award from J. Balvin and Greg Lauren, Chavarria said he desired to thank everyone within the room for being a part of the industry “which is so extreme, and so unforgiving, and now we have so few of those moments which are glamorous.”

“What I do is design for the betterment of society. I design to lift people up. I design to include love into the world,” he said.

He noted the event was happening within the shadow “of some awful things happening on the earth.”

“All of us have to stand with those people who find themselves being hurt in any way. We’d like to do whatever we are able to through our business or human contact to make others feel loved, empowered and feel good. We have to be good to 1 one other,” Chavarria said.

Tom Ford took the stage to present the Founder’s Award, in honor of CFDA founder Eleanor Lambert, to Domenico De Sole, former chief executive officer of the Gucci Group.

“I used to be told tonight I had only 250 words to speak about Domenico De Sole. That is totally not possible,” Ford said. He recalled an intense meeting with François-Henri Pinault to avoid wasting Gucci from a hostile takeover, when considered one of De Sole’s children called. The primary words out of De Sole’s mouth was “You’re never bothering me.”

Ford said at any time when he would call him, De Sole would tell him also that he never bothers him either, and that De Sole makes time for people and things that matter. “I might not be where I’m today in each my personal life and my profession without him,” Ford said.

De Sole said that their business life together was crammed with challenges and great triumphs. “I owe my success mostly to your support and your partnership,” De Sole said. “I really like you, Tom.”

“In business, it takes a village to achieve success,” said De Sole, noting his colleagues and friends were within the room. “This award is a testament to a collective effort, and belongs to all of us,” he said.

Rosario Dawson presented Mara Hoffman with the Environmental Sustainability Award, and cited her thoughtfulness, kindness, integrity, connection and depth. She described how Hoffman had a successful swimwear line that she launched in 2000 that didn’t align along with her moral ethics. “So she pivoted, she modified, she stopped and launched into a journey for a more sustainable business,” she said. “Mara’s clothes are artful, inspired and deeply personal,” Dawson said. “Mara walks the talk.”

In accepting her award, Hoffman said she was happy with Maria Cornejo, whose video unintentionally played as an alternative of hers.

Hoffman said at first, she couldn’t wrap her head around a CFDA sustainability award, and called for improvement.

“Our industry accounts for as much as 10 percent of world carbon emissions. Can we collaborate with each other to be higher?” she asked.

Ayo Edebiri and Prabal Gurung presented the American Accessory Designer of the 12 months Award to Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen of The Row, who weren’t there.

Demi Moore, who was introduced by the president of Amazon Fashion, Muge Erdirik Dogan, gave the Innovation Award presented by Amazon Fashion to Goop, with founder and CEO Gwyneth Paltrow accepting.

Moore, an in depth personal friend of Paltrow, said Paltrow has at all times been driven by an adventurous curiosity, which started off along with her Goop newsletter in 2008, featuring advice resembling easy methods to roast a chicken. Paltrow has gone on to construct an empire of beauty, fashion, wellness, food and residential, and discusses topics that were previously taboo, resembling menopause, sex and aging. “You made a candle that smelled like a vagina,” Moore said.

Paltrow noted that Goop is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary, and it’s a business that began at her kitchen table and has grown along the way in which.

Laura Linney presented the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award to Maria Cornejo, and said that Cornejo didn’t need to be a designer and that she has “failed marvelously, and thank God. What would your loving friends wear without you?” she asked.

Cornejo said it’s so hard to have fun without delay and as a grandmother, she will’t help but be heavy. She said as a Latin independent designer, “you recognize how hard it’s to be independent,” she said. “Thanks to my children for showing me the way in which of affection.…I dedicate this award to peace and the innocent children who’re voiceless without delay,” Cornejo said.

Blige presented a special tribute to the fiftieth anniversary of hip-hop. “Thank God for hip-hop,” said Blige, characterizing the influential genre as “all the pieces and in all places unexpectedly.” She introduced a movie, directed by music video director Hype Williams, which featured Missy Elliott, LL Cool J, June Ambrose, Biz Markie and Salt-N-Pepa, with music by Pharrell Williams, made possible by Recent Era.

Charles Melton and Zac Posen presented Shop with Google’s American Emerging Designer of the 12 months to Rachel Scott of Diotima. The Jamaican-born designer said she didn’t think she’d win. She’s been within the industry for a very long time, and launched her brand two and a half years ago, and her mom works on the road’s crochet in Jamaica. “I don’t think there’s anywhere I could have done this but Recent York,” she said. “For me to be seen means the people in Jamaica are also being seen,” she said.

Vanessa Hudgens presented the Board of Directors Tribute to Vera Wang, calling Wang “a fashion icon,” who has dressed such women as former First Lady Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Beyoncé. She called her a disrupter, a trailblazer and a real visionary. “She has made designs which are timeless and yet modern, fresh for the moment and still stand the test of time,” said Hudgens, noting Wang owns every bit of her business.

As she accepted the award, Wang said she barely made it to the altar until 40 years old. “That is such an unbelievable moment, as ironic as miraculous,” she said. During this turbulent and distressing time, “the marriage ceremony continues to encourage celebration, commitment and joy, and today, way more inclusivity.”

The evening also paid tribute to the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Versailles. Readily available were Stephen Burrows, considered one of the five American designers within the event, and Bethann Hardison and Pat Cleveland, who modeled within the show. They recalled the event that eternally modified the course of American fashion.

“We designers just desired to have a superb show and lift money for the preservation of Versailles,” Burrows said. “We were irresistible and victorious. I don’t think the Europeans had ever seen such unrestricted enthusiasm and color at a fashion show before,” Burrows said.

“We Americans were diverse and spirited,” Hardison added. “The Battle of Versailles was fashion’s biggest showing. We were all so thrilled to have been a part of it. And I’m so proud today to see American designers proceed to be the best force in fashion.”

Greta Lee gave the International Award to Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson and Loewe. She recalled the primary time she wore Loewe: a gray knit minidress with a hoop skirt built inside it. “The technical design term was a sculptural f–king masterpiece,” she said.

“His clothes are the answers to my prayers,” Lee said. “You might be genius. Jonathan’s dedication to artisans and the humanities is totally unrivaled,” she said.

Anderson recalled his surreal yr, which began off when his parents Facetimed him while he was naked in bed, asking how they might watch the Super Bowl so that they could see the outfit their son designed for Rihanna.

Anderson credited the teams at JW Anderson and Loewe. “These individuals are incredibly gifted,” he said.

A highlight of the evening was Kim Kardashian’s presentation of the Fashion Icon award to Serena Williams. She described Williams as “fearless, heroic, authentic and ‘biggest of all time.’” She called her the best player who’s ever lived, male or female, and said she’s at all times been herself. “From the moment she stepped on the court, Serena at all times made a press release, not only in the game itself, but additionally on the earth of beauty and sportswear.” At 17, when she won her first Grand Slam title along with her hair in beaded braids, she gave women and young girls of color the representation they needed, Kardashian said.

Taking the stage, Williams said fashion has at all times been about greater than clothing to her.

“I knew once I was somewhat girl I used to be different, so fashion and magnificence was a way for me to differentiate myself. And in some ways, the tennis courts became my runway, and the U.S. Open was my very own Recent York Fashion Week. I loved reimagining the normal tennis outfits,” she said. She would wear purple tutus, bodysuits, knee-high boots, put beads in her hair and wore braids. “It was how I expressed my individuality, my confidence and my culture,” Williams said.

Over time, Williams has collaborated with such designers as Thom Browne, Donatella Versace, Virgil Abloh and Gucci, and launched her own label, S by Serena, to encourage women to embrace their bodies and love who they’re. “Creativity is in all of us. It’s a canvas. Through fashion we truly have the chance to color our own tapestry and share our human perspectives with the world,” she said.

She said she stands here today as not only an athlete, but as an individual “who has personally experienced the extraordinary power of fashion.”

Among the many people she thanked was her mother who made those first tennis outfits when she was young “and teaching me and sewing it right in front of me,” she said. Watching her sew stimulated this creativity inside herself, Williams said.

Hathaway (now in a distinct red outfit) and Narciso Rodriguez presented the ultimate award of the evening, The American Womenswear Designer of the 12 months, to Holstein. Holstein was competing with Joseph Altuzarra, Christopher John Rogers, Raul Lopez for Luar and Tory Burch for the award.

“Last yr I didn’t prepare anything, and I didn’t prepare anything this yr. I’m so beyond honored,” Holstein said.