CFDA Awards Date, Puig Sets Sail, Naeem Khan to Be Honored
MARK THE CALENDAR: The 2023 CFDA Fashion Awards, for which Amazon Fashion is the presenting partner, will take place Nov. 6 at the American Museum of Natural History.
This is the first time in the award’s 42-year history that they will be held at this location.
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“I look forward to celebrating the CFDA Awards at the American Museum of Natural history…an iconic New York landmark,” said Thom Browne, chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
Muge Erdirik Dogan, president of Amazon Fashion, added, “Amazon Fashion looks forward to continuing its collaboration with the CFDA and further supporting its mission of strengthening American fashion. I am excited to celebrate the visionaries of today who are helping to shape the fashion industry and to continue making Amazon a destination for fashion designers to engage with and inspire millions of customers.”
The annual event celebrates American fashion’s creative excellence and provides program funding for the organization’s pillars — student scholarships, sustainability, business development, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Nominees, who span womenswear, menswear and accessories categories, and honorees, will be revealed in mid-September.
Last year’s awards and gala took place at Cipriani South Street at Casa Cipriani. Catherine Holstein, creative director of Khaite, took home the Womenswear Designer of the Year award and Emily Adams Bode Aujla of Bode won Menswear Designer of the Year for the second year in a row. Raul Lopez of Luar was awarded the American Accessory Designer of the Year, and Elena Velez won the American Emerging Designer of the Year. The event was hosted by Natasha Lyonne, and the presenters included Lenny Kravitz, Cher, Bradley Cooper, Kerry Washington, Martha Stewart and Trevor Noah. — LISA LOCKWOOD
TEAM PLAYER: Puig will set sail once again, becoming the global partner of the 37th America’s Cup and the official naming partner of the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup, in Barcelona.
“This groundbreaking initiative aims to provide female sailors with a platform to showcase their skills and talent in the high-performance foiling AC40s and to provide a skills pathway to the America’s Cup itself,” the Spanish beauty and fashion company said in a statement.
“By supporting the inaugural Puig Women’s America’s Cup, Puig demonstrates its dedication to promoting inclusivity, gender equality and diversity within the sport of sailing,” it continued. “Puig’s collaboration with the America’s Cup holds special significance, reflecting its local identity as a Barcelona-based company, a rich maritime sporting heritage and global aspirations.”
The 37th America’s Cup will take place between August and October 2024 in Barcelona.
“Puig’s support will help inspire future generations of women to actively participate in competitive sailing and break down barriers in the sport,” Marc Puig, chairman and chief executive officer of Puig, said in the statement.
“The America’s Cup represents a glorious tradition of sailing excellence, and we are honored to be associated with this history event,” he added. “Through our sponsorship, we aim to enhance the experience for our participants and spectators alike, and foster a sense of unity and camaraderie within the sailing community.”
“Having a family company like Puig want to be the Naming Partner of the Puig women’s America’s Cup really justifies the purpose and the vision of the event as a direct pathway for women into the America’s Cup,” said Grant Dalton, CEO of AC37 Event Ltd.
“We will have the world’s best women sailors racing in prime time here in Barcelona showing the world the talent that exists and what the future of our sport looks like, supported by a company whose heritage is so deeply connected with sailing,” he continued.
The America’s Cup set sail in 1851, making it known as the “oldest trophy in international sport.”
Puig, since its inception more than a century ago, has had a deep link with water sports, especially sailing. It was the sponsor of the Copa del Rey in Palma de Mallorca, between 1984 and 2006. In 2008, the company organized the Puig Vela Classica Barcelona regatta with the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona, for instance.
From July 12 to 15 of this year, Puig will host the 16th edition of that regatta. In 2024, Vela Classica will take place in September, becoming part of the America’s Cup calendar. — JENNIFER WEIL
KHAN’S HONOR: Naeem Khan will be honored June 7 at the Spring Symposium & Luncheon at Museum of the City of New York.
As part of the event, Kahn will sit down for a conversation with Fern Mallis.
The City of Design Award, created by the Museum of the City of New York, was inaugurated in 2015 to recognize those who have made New York the design capital of the world and who inspire future generations of designers to bring their talents to New York City.
Past recipients have included Norma Kamali, Cynthia Rowley, Elizabeth Graziolo, Peter Marino, Jacques Grange, Ralph Pucci, Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan.
Khan was born and raised in Mumbai and cultivated a knowledge of textiles from his grandfather and father, both of whom designed intricate clothing worn by Indian royal families. He moved to the U.S. as a teenager and started his career at 20 years old as an apprentice to Halston. He launched his eponymous collection in 2003 and began selling such retailers as Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. His dresses have been worn by such celebrities as Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift, Rachel McAdams, Michelle Obama, Queen Noor of Jordan, and the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton.
Khan launched a bridal collection in 2013, and today sells ready-to-wear and bridal collections at more than 150 retail outlets around the world.
As reported, last January Khan received the Medal of Honor at The National Arts Club on Gramercy Park for his achievements in fashion. — L.L.
CHANEL IN TOKYO: Actress and longtime Chanel ambassador Kristen Stewart was in the Japanese capital Thursday for a repeat showing of the house’s 2022-23 Métiers D’Art show, which was first unveiled in Dakar, Senegal, last December. Dressed in a white T-shirt and tweed miniskirt, Stewart sat front row in the cavernous venue that hosted the event. She was joined by local celebrities, influencers and customers of the brand.
Before the models hit the runway, the show opened with a tribute to Japanese composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, who died of cancer in March. A live rendition of his hauntingly beautiful song, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” was played to a captivated audience. This was followed by a contemporary dance performance by dozens of dancers, which then segued to the collection itself.
The after party, held in the same venue, featured performances by J-pop girl group Chai and Senegalese rapper Nix.
Chanel made history with its show in Dakar, becoming the first European luxury brand to hold a fashion show in sub-Saharan Africa. The show itself was a three-day program filled with cultural events. Among the 850 show guests were Pharrell Williams, Naomi Campbell, Whitney Peak, Nile Rodgers, Princess Caroline of Monaco and her daughter Charlotte Casiraghi and the show was held at the Brutalist-style former Palace of Justice, which in recent years has hosted the Dakar Biennale.
The collection itself was filled with ‘70s-inspired pantsuits topped with beaded vests and skirts in geometric motifs that nodded to the flamboyant Congolese style subculture of the sapeurs. Flared jeans, platform shoes and tiered skirts gave a retro glow to the lineup. — KELLY WETHERILLE
KORS ON THE SCENE: On Wednesday night, Michael Kors was in the thick of Nashville’s trendy the Gulch neighborhood soaking in the city’s scene. “I love cities where people go to fulfill their dreams,” said Kors. The designer and Nordstrom were in town hosting a dinner and shopping event in celebration of the designer’s latest runway collection.
“Nashville has always been bursting at the seams with great talent which shows up in its one-of-a-kind music scene. Of course, great Southern comfort food and the blend of energy and laid-back ease also make Nashville truly special,” Kors said.
The New York-based designer and Nordstrom kicked off the trip with a dinner at Adele’s, a popular restaurant not far from Music Row. Guests included Kors’ husband Lance LePere, Karen Elson, Taylor Hill, country singer Mickey Guyton, Brandi Cyrus, and “Bachelorette” star Hannah Brown.
“It was great to see the stylish social scene of Nashville last night,” offered Nordstrom’s Rickie De Sole. “The energy of our guests, from Taylor Hill and Karen Elson to top customers, carried from the family style dinner all the way through to the honky tonk.”
The dinner was followed by a fashion presentation and shopping event with Kors at the retailer’s Mall of Green Hills location on Thursday. — KRISTEN TAUER
MADRID BOUND: Next month, French cult sneaker label Veja will open its latest retail and repair location in Madrid.
As part of its ongoing circularity journey, the company will include an in-store cobbler to encourage its shoppers to repair and clean their sneakers. The cobbler format is already in select Veja stores in Berlin and Paris.
“I think we’re one of the best brands in tracing and seeing everything, but once a pair of sneakers was sold to the public we had opacity,” Veja cofounder Sebastien Kopp told WWD. “By working on recycling, we say, ‘There’s a step before recycling to make life longer.’ We started repair in 2020 in Paris and it was a huge success in France. So we do things as we always do. We try, we fail or we succeed. Then we build another cobbler and another and another.”
The in-store repair amenities extend to not just Veja products but any other sneaker brand, with cost varying from $10 and up depending on item condition and regardless of brand. Thousands of shoes have been repaired since the program’s inception.
“I can tell you from those last three years, with COVID-19, etc. It’s a success,” Kopp said. “We just want to set an example. That it’s possible, cool and that people are surprised by the result.”
As he confirmed, there is also a location set to open in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this November.
Veja recently held a panel conversation in its SoHo store in Manhattan titled “Cotton Convo: From Field to Sneaker.” The session spanned regenerative cotton, certification and long-term sourcing partnerships. For 19 years, Veja has sourced organic cotton directly from producers, teaming with organizations Bergman Riviera (Veja’s cotton partner in Peru). Mariela Calderon, director of certification at Bergman Riviera, said that in a few short years, the Veja partnership has grown to 300 farmers.
All things considered, Kopp acknowledged the challenges in leading with sustainability. “One of the problems in our society is nobody knows how stuff is made and the traceability of every component of the products. There was foolishness at the beginning of Veja to say, ‘We’re going to deconstruct a sneaker and build it from nothing, but going to see the raw materials we’re going to use, the factories we’re going to use and the warehouses we’re going to use.’ It was a bet to do it without advertising, without investors. It was not really the time but that’s what we believe in. Veja is the materialization of what we believe in.”
This maturation of mission and gut instinct drives Kopp. “My favorite pair is never on the shelves. It’s the next one,” he said, describing the relentless urge to continue innovating Veja footwear. — KALEY ROSHITSH
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