The 2011 CFDA Award nominees have been announced and the candidates are sure to excite.  In the Womenswear category we have Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang and the men from Proenza Schouler, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez.  Check out the rest of the nominees and honorees below.

Womenswear Designer of the Year:
Alexander Wang
Marc Jacobs
Proenza Schouler
 
Accessories Designer of the Year:
Alexander Wang
Proenza Schouler
Reed Krakoff
 
Menswear Designer of the Year:
Simon Spurr
Michael Bastian
Patrick Ervell
 
Swarovski Award for Womenswear:
Joseph Altuzarra
Prabal Gurung
The Row
 
Swarovski Award for Menswear:
Alexander Wang
Phillip Lim
Robert Geller
 
Swarovski Award for Accessory Design:
Alejandro Ingelmo
Eddie Borgo
Jason Wu
Pamela Love
 
Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award
Marc Jacobs
 
Board of Directors Tribute
Arthur Elgort
 
International Award
Phoebe Philo
 
Media Award
Hilary Alexander
 
CFDA Board of Trustees Award
Hal Rubenstein
 
Fashion Icon
Lady Gaga

Eva Mendes in Christian Cota

Nicole Richie in Missoni and Frederic Fekkai

Rachel Zoe and Finalist, Prabal Gurung

CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund held its runway show yesterday in Los Angeles at The Chateau Marmont.  Among the finalists showing were Joseph Altuzarra, Pamela Love, Prabal Gurung, Christian Cota, Moss Lipow, Gregory Parkinson and Eddie Borgo.  The audience included Eva Mendes, Nicole Richie, Frederic Fekkai and Rachel Zoe; they came out to show their support to the newer talent on the fashion block.  Mendes wore Christian Cota to the event; any guesses where she’s lending her support?  Fekkai was responsible for the hair backstage, someone has to style the hair to go with the gorgeous designs.  This fulfilled the runway portion of the competition, a final decision will be made on November 15th.  The winner gets bragging rights and a $200,000 cash prize.  That’s quite an incentive.

Related: CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists

The names of the finalists for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund have been announced.  These designers are in contention for a $200,000 cash prize for the winner, and two $50,000 awards to the two runner-ups.  In addition to the monetary awards, mentoring from a veteran within the industry is also at stake.  We will have to wait until November 15th to find out who the winners will be, but feel free to check out the list and choose your favorite. 

CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists:

ALTUZARRA – Joseph Altuzarra

BILLY REID – Billy Reid

CHRISTIAN COTA – Christian Cota

EDDIE BORGO – Eddie Borgo

GREGORY PARKINSON – Gregory Parkinson

LODEN DAGER – Oliver Helden and Paul Marlow

MOSS LIPOW – Moss Lipow

PAMELA LOVE JEWELRY – Pamela Love

PRABAL GURUNG – Prabal Gurung

ROBERT GELLER – Robert Geller

The beautiful people came out tonight at Lincoln Center to hear the winners announced at the CFDA Awards.  There were very few surprises.  The big winner of the evening was Marc Jacobs for Womenswear Designer of the Year.  Take a look at the list of winners and nominees below to see if you agree with the outcome.

CFDA Winners:

Womenswear Designer of the Year: Marc Jacobs

Menswear Designer of the Year: Rag & Bone (Marcus Wainwright and David Neville)

Accessory Designer of the Year: Alexis Bittar

Popular Vote Award: Ralph Lauren

The Swarovski Award for Womenswear: Jason Wu

The Swarovski Award for Menswear: Richard Chai

The Swarovski Award for Accessory Design: Alexander Wang

The Jeffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement: Michael Kors 

CFDA Special Award Tribute: Lee McQueen of Alexander McQueen

The Eugenia Sheppard Journalism Award – Kim Hastreiter (Paper Magazine)

The International Award – Christopher Bailey (Burberry Prorsum) 

The Eleanor Lambert Award – Tonne Goodman (Vogue)

Icon Award: Iman

Nominees:

Womenswear Designers of the Year – Donna Karan, Alexander Wang and Marc Jacobs

Menswear Designers of the Year - Michael Bastian, Tom Ford and Rag & Bone (David Neville and Marcus Wainwright)

Accessory Designer of the Year - Alexis Bittar, Proenza Schouler (Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez) and Marc Jacobs

Swarovski Awards For Womenswear - Joseph Altuzarra, Prabal Gurung and Jason Wu

The Swarovski Award for Menswear – Simon Spurr, Patrik Ervell and Richard Chai

The Swarovski Award For Accessory Design – Dana Lorenz, Alexander Wang and Eddie Borgo

CFDA Special  Award Tribute – Alexander McQueen

The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award – Michael Kors

The Eugenia Sheppard Journalism Award – Kim Hastreiter (Paper Magazine)

The International Award – Christopher Bailey (Burberry Prorsum) 

The Eleanor Lambert Award – Tonne Goodman (Vogue)

The Fashion Icon Award – Iman

Related Updates: CFDA Announces Fashion Awards Finalists

Prabal Gurung Fall 2010

Jason Wu Fall 2010

Altuzarra Fall 2010

Prabal Gurung - Prabal is a new designer who debuted his first collection in New York  for Fall 2009.  His Fall 2010 collection was extremely strong, and if it’s any indication of his future work, we are excited to see what else he has in store.  If you’re in the market for desireable sportswear, then take a look at this label.  His collection can be found at Bloomingdale’s.

Jason Wu – Jason is the veteran in this group.  He dresses many big name clients, and most notable would be First Lady Michelle Obama.  Wu’s style is the more elegant of the nominees, and you can see that in his beautiful dresses.  His collection is sold in Bergdorfs and Saks Fifth Avenue.   

Joseph Altuzarra – Meet the other newcomer of the group, and another big talent.  Altuzarra’s Fall 2010 collection was rocker chic and sexy; his style is more avant garde.  There’s still so much to learn about this young designer, and we can’t wait to find out in his designs.  His ready-to-wear collection can be found at Barneys New York.

Alexander Wang Fall 2010

Donna Karan Fall 2010

Marc Jacobs Fall 2010

The Council of Fashion Designers of America has announced the finalists for the 2010 Fashion Awards.  Who says social media is not a good source for breaking news?  Alexander Wang, Donna Karan and Marc Jacobs were each nominated for womenswear Designer of the Year.  Today has been a big news day for the CFDA, it announced earlier that Diane von Furstenberg would remain as president until 2012, and now the nominations.  Too bad we’ll have to wait until June 7th to find out who will walk away with the awards, but for now, we can always speculate.  Check out the list of other nominees for the coveted awards.

Other Nominees:

• Menswear Designers of the Year – Michael Bastian, Tom Ford and Rag & Bone (David Neville and Marcus Wainwright)
• Accessory Designer of the Year - Alexis Bittar, Proenza Schouler (Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez) and Marc Jacobs
• Swarovski Awards For Womenswear - Joseph Altuzarra, Prabal Gurung and Jason Wu
• The Swarovski Award for Menswear – Simon Spurr, Patrik Ervell and Richard Chai
• The Swarovski Award For Accessory Design – Dana Lorenz, Alexander Wang and Eddie Borgo
• CFDA Special  Award Tribute – Alexander McQueen
• The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award – Michael Kors
• The Eugenia Sheppard Journalism Award – Kim Hastreiter (Paper Magazine)
• The International Award – Christopher Bailey (Burberry Prorsum) 
• The Eleanor Lambert Award – Tonne Goodman (Vogue)
• The Fashion Icon Award – Iman

New York City has a reputation as being one of the major fashion capitals of the world, and the city is taking that reputation one step further.  It was announced this week that the CFDA and New York City will host a contest to find twelve young designers to occupy space within the garment district.  The collaboration will be done in the form of a new 10,000-square-foot fashion incubator located at 209 West 38th Street.  Renting space in this area would normally average $3,000 per month, but this program would reduce it to $1,500; a more manageable rate.  The overall goal of this project is to provide emerging designers with affordable rents, educational and industry support.  Mayor Bloomberg is showing a commitment to the fashion community, and to an industry that has its roots firmly planted here in the city.  Providing this opportunity is a sign to the fashion world that New York City is open for business, and will help to foster new talent.

An Incubator for Emerging Fashion Designers [City Room/NYT]