Maeve McDermott
USATODAY
Published 6:13 p.m. UTC Jun 5, 2018
NEW YORK — Emotions ran high at the 2018 CFDA Awards, which awarded Calvin Klein designer Raf Simons Monday night’s most prestigious award while recognizing Ralph Lauren, Naomi Campbell and other fashion names as industry icons.
The action unfolded at the Brooklyn Museum as Simons took home the award for womenswear designer of the year at the awards show recognized as the fashion equivalent of the Academy Awards, with streetwear titans Supreme winning the men’s category. Perennial nominees Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen won the best accessories category for The Row, while Sies Marjan designer Sander Lak won the emerging talent prize.
Most of the evening’s memorable moments came from the special awards honoring fashion industry legends, with Campbell accepting the fashion icon award with a moving seven-minute-long speech, wiping away tears as she began to address the audience.
“I was told many times that I couldn’t do certain things because of the color of my skin,” the supermodel said. “I let it drive me. And of course I’m human, and I found it hard at times not to take it personally. But I stand here today as a proud woman of color, and I will continue to push for diversity and equality in this industry.”
Meanwhile, Lauren was honored with an all-star tribute celebrating his 50th anniversary in fashion, with a group of his peers — Jeffrey Banks, John Varvatos, Vera Wang, Thom Browne, Michael Kors, Diane Von Frustenberg, Donna Karan, Jason Wu, Alexander Wang and Tommy Hilfiger — taking the stage to commemorate his legacy.
Moments of levity came courtesy of Kim Kardashian West, who accepted her influencer award by joking that she’s “shocked I’m getting a fashion award when I’m naked most of the time,” and host Issa Rae, who kicked off the show with some words for Kardashian’s husband Kanye West, who was not in attendance for the night’s ceremonies.
“I’m about as fashionable as Kanye is black. Only when it’s convenient,” she said. “That joke was my choice, just like slavery.”
The night’s other special honors included Diane Von Furstenberg’s Swarovski award for positive change, Narciso Rodriguez ‘ Geoffrey Beene lifetime achievement award, Carolina Herrera’s founder’s award, Donatella Versace’s international award and British Vogue editor Edward Enninful’s media award in honor of Eugenia Shepherd.
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