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News Bites | Franca Sozzani, Gloria Steinem and Demna Gvasalia to be honoured at the 2017 CFDA Fashion Awards

In today's News Bites, the trade organization announces the nominees and honourees for its annual ceremony in June. 
CFDA Awards 2017 Honorees and Nominees | Source: Courtesy
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  • BoF Team

Welcome to News Bites, BoF's regular feature of the stories that have got the industry talking.

Franca Sozzani, Gloria Steinem and Demna Gvasalia to be honoured at the 2017 CFDA Fashion Awards

When the board of the Council of Fashion Designers of America gathered on Thursday to set the nominees and honourees of the 2017 CFDA Awards, no category garnered more discussion than that of Fashion Icon, awarded last year to Beyonce in a surprise appearance.

"It is the hardest one I think," said president and chief executive officer Steven Kolb to BoF at the announcements at Ramscale Studios. After an hour of discussion, the group decided to honour the late Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani, who passed away in December. Chairwoman Diane von Furstenberg told the gathered industry members that Sozzani was "one person who really understood what 'fashion icon' is and actually helped create many fashion icons."

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The annual ceremony will be held on June 5th at the Hammerstein Ballroom, where it moved last year after seven years at Lincoln Center. The new venue allowed the CFDA to host something more akin to a traditional Hollywood awards show, with a comedian host and star presenters. This year’s celebrity slate has yet to be announced, and Kolb says the CFDA is also working with new partners to transform the interior space to increase focus on the arrivals and up the glamour. “It’s going to be very youthful and very familiar and cozy,” he said.

Von Furstenberg announced some changes to the awards this year. The Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent, which offers financial support and mentorship to young designers, was previously separated into womenswear, menswear and accessories categories. It has been unified into a single category. “We just felt in terms of how fashion is changing — it isn’t becoming so specific to a category — it was a good way to reflect that, but also really make the category more competitive in a field where there are a lot of awards like this,” said Kolb.

There is also one brand new category: the first Swarovksi Award for Positive Change will be presented to Kenneth Cole, who was “the first one to make those kind of [political] statements with his fashion and with his advertising,” explained von Furstenberg.

The addition marks just one way the activism seen on the runways during New York Fashion Week has influenced the awards. “I think what you see in the nominations is a real reflection of the state of time,” said Kolb. “We really want honor and respect people who are making a difference and making a statement in the industry and beyond the industry.

To that end, the Board of Directors’ Tribute will be presented to Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, activist Gloria Steinem, and actress/musician Janelle Monae for their contributions to January’s historic Women’s March. “[Those] women came out so strongly and it was such a wonderful trio, and so we would like to honor them,” said von Furstenberg.

Read on for the full list of 2017 CFDA Fashion Awards nominees and recipients.

Womenswear Designer of the Year

Menswear Designer of the Year

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  • Raf Simons for Calvin Klein,
  • Robert Geller
  • Thom Browne
  • Tim Coppens
  • Todd Snyder

Accessory Designer of the Year

  • Stuart Vevers for Coach
  • Irene Neuwirth
  • Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel for Mansur Gavriel
  • Paul Andrew
  • Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row

Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent

The Swarovski Award for Positive Change will be presented to Kenneth Cole.

The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Rick Owens.

The Founder's Award will be presented to Pat McGrath.

The International Award will be presented to Demna Gvasalia for Vetements and Balenciaga.

The Board of Directors' Tribute will be presented to Cecile Richards, Gloria Steinem, and Janelle Monae.

The Fashion Icon Award will posthumously be presented to Franca Sozzani.

Do you have a story for News Bites? Email newsbites@businessoffashion.com.

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