Diotima’s Rachel Scott, Willy Chavarria Take Home CFDA Fashion Awards

Rachel Scott, the designer behind Diotima, was named American Womenswear Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s annual awards Monday evening.

Luar’s Raul Lopez received the Accessory Designer of the Year Award, and Willy Chavarria was named Menswear Designer of the Year for the second year in a row. Henry Zankov was Shop with Google American Emerging Designer of the Year.

The event, held at the American Museum of Natural History, was hosted by theatre and film star Cynthia Erivo, with Marc Jacobs, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and Blake Lively among the presenters.

While the focus remained squarely on the past, present and future of American fashion, the looming US election couldn’t be ignored. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, opened the evening, and CFDA president Thom Browne called on the industry to stay engaged in his opening remarks.

“With one week to go until the election, let’s continue to commit to shape the future with our words, actions and ideas,” Browne said.

See the full list of winners below:

American Womenswear Designer of the Year: Rachel Scott, Diotima

American Menswear Designer of the Year: Willy Chavarria

American Accessory Designer of the Year: Raul Lopez

Shop with Google American Emerging Designer of the Year: Henry Zankov

Board of Directors Tribute: Isabel Toledo

International Designer of the Year: Daniel Roseberry

Positive Change Award: Michael Kors

Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award: Stephen Burrows

Media Award in honor of Eugenia Sheppard: Annie Leibovitz

Founder’s Award in honor of Eleanor Lambert: Hamish Bowles

Innovation Award Presented by Amazon Fashion: Coach

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Fashion Week Launches with a Political Statement

On Friday morning, the opening day of New York Fashion Week, runway glamour was put on pause in favour of political activism as the CFDA, in collaboration with Vogue and voting rights group I Am A Voter, spearheaded a non-partisan march to encourage people to register to vote.