Lenny Kravitz talks fashion icon status, Kim Kardashian accepts honor at CFDA Awards (plus Cher!) – USA TODAY

NEW YORK – There aren’t many rooms that can join together the likes of Cher, Kim Kardashian, Martha Stewart and Lenny Kravitz. Then again, the CFDA Fashion Awards aren’t just any room. 

Top names in fashion and entertainment flooded downtown Manhattan at Cipriani South Street to reunite and fête each other at the 2022 Council of Fashion Designers of America’s annual event Monday night, honoring the organization’s 60th anniversary.

Fashion is oft a mirror, both showing us where we are now and offering a glimpse back at where we’ve been, and attendees cheered for a mix of both as they celebrated sartorial icons and rookie visionaries.

“What I’ve learned along the way is being yourself is the most important thing you can do,” said Kravitz, who earned the night’s fashion icon award. “And that you’re going to make mistakes. I certainly have had my fair share of fashion fails, but that’s part of evolving.”

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Champagne flowed and guests mixed and mingled during an hourslong cocktail hour and dinner reception, where Gigi Hadid and Trevor Noah chatted between courses and Katie Homes shared a table with “Selling Sunset” star Christine Quinn.

Every celebrity imaginable floated through the room: Jayden Smith, Jesse Williams, Bernadette Peters, Halle Bailey, Amanda Seyfried, Mariska Hargitay, Bowen Yang, Trevor Noah, Tinashe, Christina Ricci, Bradley Cooper, Janelle Monáe and Vanessa Hudgens. 

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The Kardashian-Jenner clan, including Khloé Kardashian and Kris, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, clapped for Kim Kardashian as she accepted the Amazon Innovation Award alongside her Skims co-founder and CEO Jens Grede and founding partner Emma Grede for their work on the shapewear brand.

The family dynamic played into Kardashian’s speech: “Mom, turn your phone off,” Kardashian said to laughs as a phone in the crowd began to ring.

Joking aside, the 42-year-old got serious in a rallying call for inclusion. 

“We’re so proud of Skims’ ability to not only innovate with our products but also with our mission of inclusivity. We have put a strong emphasis since our launch on continuing to shape the industry to embrace size, equality, and diversity as a fixture not just a trend,” said Kardashian, who received the award from “Skims fan” Martha Stewart.

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“Russian Doll” actress Natasha Lyonne served as emcee for the festivities, garnering some uncertain laughs with jokes on voting and fashion’s lack of diversity.

“I love any industry that combines utter eccentricity with short tempers, chain smoking indoors, vague exclusivity, impeccable aesthetics, fleeting taste and a weight loss program sponsored by the Sackler family,” Lyonne said.

Joseph Altuzarra, Gabriela Hearst, Aurora James, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough served as co-hosts for the awards, presented in partnership with Amazon.

Zendaya stylist Law Roach says ‘anything is possible’

Kerry Washington, who was on hand to present stylist and self-proclaimed image architect Law Roach with the inaugural stylist award, recounted Roach’s ascent from his humble Chicago roots to inventively finding ways to dress then-up-and-coming actress Zendaya, with whom he’s crafted some of the red carpet’s most memorable looks.

“In 2016 I was invited with Michael Kors to come to the CFDA Awards at Hammerstein Ballroom, and I sat in the kitchen and I watched from the kitchen as the waiters served your food and served your drinks and I just said to myself, ‘One day, I’m going to be on that stage,'” said an overwhelmed Roach. “I am the example that anything is possible.”

Lenny Kravitz, more honored at CFDA Awards

While accepting his award, presented to him by Bradley Cooper, Kravitz said he was “extremely grateful” that “we can come together tonight and celebrate our fashion and expression.” 

Other winners of the night included Luar’s Raul Lopez for accessory designer; Elena Velez for emerging designer; Bode’s Emily Bode Aujla for menswear designer; and Khaite’s Catherine Holstein for womenswear designer.

For the council’s milestone 60th year, the organization created a one-time special anniversary award, given to longtime member Jeffrey Banks. Virgil Abloh received a posthumous honor, The Board of Trustee’s award, accepted by his wife Shannon Abloh. Slaysians from the The House of Slay, featuring Prabal Gurung, Laura Kim, Phillip Lim, Tina Leung and Ezra William, earned the positive social influence award for their work combatting Asian hate, while the United Nations received the environmental sustainability award.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton took home the founder’s award, while groundbreaking stylist Patti Wilson thanked collaborator Cher and the nuns from her childhood Catholic school for inspiring her while accepting the media award. Laurie Lynn Stark and Richard Stark of Chrome Hearts received the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award.

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