The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessory designers. The organization promotes American designers' participation in the global economy. In addition to hosting the annual CFDA Fashion Awards, the organization develops future American design talent through scholarships and resources in high schools, colleges, and postgraduate schools. The CFDA also provides funding and business opportunities for working designers. Through the CFDA Foundation, the organization engages in various charitable activities.

History

The first president of the CFDA was Sydney Wragge (1962–1965). Steven Kolb has been the CEO since 2006. As of January 2023, Thom Browne is the group's chairman; he follows Tom Ford, who served as chairman for three years. Additionally, Diane von Furstenberg served as chairman for 13 years from 2006 until 2019. These people founded the CFDA in 1962:• Bill Blass • Donald Brooks • Betty Carol • Jane Derby • Luis Estevez • David Evins • Rudi Gernreich • Bud Kilpatrick • Helen Lee • Jean Louis • John Moore • Norman Norell • Sylvia Pedlar • Sarmi • Arnold Scaasi • Adele Simpson • Gustave Tassell • Pauline Trigère • Sydney Wragge • Ben Zuckerman

CFDA Fashion Awards

The CFDA Fashion Awards were founded in 1980 with the first awards given in 1981. They honor and showcase excellence in fashion design. The CFDA Fashion Awards were created by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. They have been sometimes referred to as "the Oscars of fashion". Prior to the establishment of the CFDA Awards, the Coty Awards fulfilled a similar role until they ended in 1985, with the final Coty Awards bestowed in September 1984. In 1997, the CFDA Fashion Awards began including emerging designers. Nominations are submitted by the Fashion Guild, a group of over 1,500 CFDA members including fashion editors, retailers, and stylists. Award winners are determined by vote and announced at an annual black tie event held in Manhattan. Award winners receive a trophy made by the New York firm Society Awards. For the 2022 and 2023 editions, Amazon Fashion sponsored the event.

1980s

The CFDA Awards have been given out since 1981. The 1981 awards were given out at the first annual CFDA awards ceremony on January 14, 1982 at a dinner in the New York Public Library. The winners had been announced two months before the ceremony which was originally scheduled for a television extravaganza in the fall of 1981. CFDA president Bill Blass had set off controversy when he announced that all of the nominees will be named winners to avoid televising designers as they lose awards. In response, nominee Geoffrey Beene rejected the award and said, "The industry needs a major award for its merit, not its emotion.” Under the new CFDA president Perry Ellis, the 1984 CFDA awards in January 1985 had a broadened set of awards that included awards for MTV, Nike billboards, and Details magazine. According to Donna Karan, who headed the awards committee, "We wanted these awards to go beyond designers. It`s all about creativity and the whole scope of fashion." After the Coty Awards were discontinued 1985, the CFDA Awards were seen as the top honors in the fashion industry with the wider variety of awards making the event more interesting and modern. James Galanos received the first CFDA "Lifetime Achievement Award" in 1984, which the CFDA named after Geoffrey Beene. At the 1984 awards, Bill Blass presented the "Eugenia Sheppard fashion award" to Earl Blackwell and said it would be given annually "for outstanding contribution to fashion journalism." However, [Women's Wear Daily](https://bliptext.com/articles/women-s-wear-daily) later reported that Etta Froio, editor of [Women's Wear Daily](https://bliptext.com/articles/women-s-wear-daily) and W, won the first "Eugenia Sheppard award" in 1986. The CFDA Awards were staged at the New York Public Library until they moved to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the 1986 awards in January 1987. The CFDA's first "Perry Ellis Award" for new fashion talent was given to David Cameron in 1986, the award was named after the former council president who died that year. Other awards:

1990s

Reportedly the CFDA's first "International Award" was given to Gianni Versace in 1992 although it was previously reported that Christian Lacroix received the CFDA's first international award in 1986 and that Yves Saint Laurent received a CFDA international award in 1981. Princess Diana attended the awards in January 1995 to present a special award to her friend Elizabeth Tilberis, the British-born Editor-in-Chief of ''Harper's Bazaar. In 1997, for the first time, the CFDA did not release all of the award winners before the awards ceremony. The nominees of the "Perry Ellis Awards" were announced at a press conference in November 1997 but the winners were not named until the February 1998 awards ceremony. In 1999, the date of the event was changed from January to June when the awards were televised for the first time, as the 18th Annual American Fashion Awards on E! Entertainment Television, marking the beginning of a five-year partnership with General Motors. Other awards:

2000s

The CFDA's first "Fashion Icon Award" was given to American socialite C.Z. Guest in 2002. The award was given to Nicole Kidman in 2003 and to Sarah Jessica Parker in 2004. The CFDA decided to forgo the award in 2005, and instead gave the "Award for Fashion Influence" to Kate Moss. In 2002, the CFDA Fashion Awards also began a 17-year partnership with Swarovski that ended in 2019. In 2003, the awards for new designer talent, formerly known as the "Perry Ellis Awards," were renamed "Swarovski’s Perry Ellis Awards" and included a monetary prize for the first time to reflect the sponsorship.

2010s

2020s

Programs

CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund

2010s Finalists and Winners

2023 Return to Old Format

Tiffany & Co. x CFDA Jewelry Designer Award

Established in 2024, the CFDA partners with Tiffany & Co. for the stated purpose of recognizing and uplifting outstanding American jewelry designers who are committed to driving inclusivity with the design industry. Awarded recipients are selected by a committee of industry experts. 2020s Finalists

CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR} program

The 4.0 class (2016–2018) of the {FASHION INCUBATOR} includes Alexandra Alvarez of Alix, Aurora James of Brother Vellies, Charles Youssef, Daniel DuGoff of Ddugoff, Tim Joo and Dan Joo of Haerfest, Jason Alkire and Julie Alkire of Haus Alkire, Ji Oh, Katie deGuzman and Michael Miller of K/ller Collection, Thaddeus O’Neil, and Molly Yestadt of Yestadt Millinery.

Fashion Manufacturing Initiative

The Fashion Manufacturing Initiative (FMI) is an investment fund to help revitalize New York City's garment industry. The program offers matching financial grants to New York City's fashion manufacturing production facilities. In March 2018, the CFDA and NYCA announced that the following seven production facilities would receive a combined total of $480,000 in the fifth round of FMI grants: Atelier Amelia, Sunrise Studio, In Style USA, Mudo Fashion, New York Embroidery Studio, Season Wash, and Werkstatt.

Fashion Targets Breast Cancer

Fashion Targets Breast Cancer® (FTBC), a charitable initiative of the CFDA/CFDA Foundation, seeks to raise public awareness and funds for the breast cancer cause. The Fashion Targets Breast Cancer name and symbol were created by Ralph Lauren and subsequently entrusted to the CFDA Foundation. FTBC was first presented in the U.S. in the spring of 1994 during New York Fashion Week, and was formally launched in September 1994 at a special White House reception hosted by then-First Lady Hillary Clinton. During this initial campaign, 400,000 FTBC shirts were sold, raising $2 million to benefit the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Health at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center. Since 2011, the council has led an annual campaign to promote the initiative and partners with well known fashion icons. In 2017, Fabletics partnered with Fashion Targets Breast Cancer to produce an activewear collection. A portion of all sales for the collection would be donated to target breast cancer screening and treatment.

Publications

The CFDA has published the following books, listed in order by publish date: