A week ago we set out what to watch at the 2026 CFDA Fashion Awards. On Monday night, 2 November, the Council of Fashion Designers of America gave its answers, and the headline is one of continuity. Rachel Scott of Diotima won American Womenswear Designer of the Year for the second time, Ralph Lauren collected the menswear prize again, and Anthony Vaccarello received the International Designer award in what amounted to a farewell to his decade at Saint Laurent.
The ceremony, presented by Amazon Fashion and hosted by actor Keke Palmer, returned to the American Museum of Natural History for a fourth year. Vogue reports that guests took cocktails in the Hall of North American Mammals before dinner in the Hall of Ocean Life, beneath the museum's 94-foot blue whale.
The four competitive awards
| Award | Winner | Presented by |
|---|---|---|
| American Womenswear Designer of the Year | Rachel Scott for Diotima | Lupita Nyong'o and Francisco Costa |
| American Menswear Designer of the Year | Ralph Lauren | Matt Damon and Tremaine Emory |
| American Accessory Designer of the Year | Ana Khouri | Naomi Osaka and Joseph Altuzarra |
| Google Shopping American Emerging Designer of the Year | Colleen Allen | Cole Escola and Gabriela Hearst |
Source: CFDA winners announcement, 3 November 2026.
Womenswear: Rachel Scott, again
Scott, who founded Diotima and is also creative director of Proenza Schouler, first won the womenswear award in 2024. This year she beat a strong field: Catherine Holstein of Khaite, Michael Kors, Tory Burch and Wes Gordon of Carolina Herrera. Her acceptance speech was the most quoted of the night. As reported by Vogue, she said: "I realized that it's very unusual that someone like me can stand in a space like this. And in a world where independence and marginalized voices are systematically quieted, I feel extremely lucky and very, very responsible. We have a lot of work to do." Elle's account adds that she ended with "starting tomorrow morning".
Menswear: Ralph Lauren's third
For Ralph Lauren, the menswear award follows wins in 1996 and 2007. He has also twice been named womenswear designer of the year, in 1995 and again last year. He beat Public School's Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, Thom Browne, Todd Snyder and Willy Chavarria. Elle notes that the house will mark its 60th anniversary in 2027, which makes the win look like an early tribute to American fashion's most durable founder-designer.
Accessories and the emerging prize
The accessory award went to Ana Khouri, the Brazilian-born, New York-based sculptor and jeweller, over The Row's Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, Raul Lopez of Luar, Sophie Buhai and Stuart Vevers of Coach. The emerging designer prize went to Colleen Allen, the Brooklyn-based designer who was also a nominee for this year's LVMH Prize. Her fellow nominees were Emily Dawn Long, Julia Ferentinos of Juju Vera, Julian Louie of Aubero and Zane Li of Lii.
The honorees
The CFDA announces its honorary awards in advance, so the interest on the night lay in who presented them and what was said.
- International Designer of the Year: Anthony Vaccarello. Presented by Hailey Bieber, Rosé and Zoë Kravitz, who, according to Elle, all wore looks from his final Saint Laurent collection. "I've learned that success isn't only about what you create," he said, "it's about the people who stand beside you while you're creating it."
- Fashion Icon: Peter Marino. The architect behind many of the world's best-known luxury flagships received the award from Cornelia Guest, whose mother, CZ Guest, was the first recipient of the Fashion Icon award.
- Positive Change Award: Tory Burch, presented by Anna Wintour.
- Innovation Award: Gap Inc., presented by Demi Moore and accepted by chief executive Richard Dickson and Zac Posen.
- Media Award in honour of Eugenia Sheppard: Eva Chen, Meta's vice president of fashion, presented by Laufey.
- Founder's Award in honour of Eleanor Lambert: Linda Fargo of Bergdorf Goodman, presented by Michael Kors.
- Isabel Toledo Board of Directors' Tribute: Susan Cianciolo, the artist and designer behind the Run collections, presented by threeASFOUR.
- Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award: Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, presented by Charles Star Matadin.
Marino made his speech a tribute to the people in the room. "You fashion designers who are here tonight, you have a much harder job than I do," he said, according to Vogue. "You have to reinvent yourself every season."
What the speeches said about the industry
The chair of the CFDA, Thom Browne, used his remarks to address a year of constant creative-director turnover. "American fashion is at the center of the world and the center of the spirit of our times," he said, as reported by Vogue. "In a time when designers are getting replaced left and right, and the business is more demanding than ever, it's never been more important to double down on really great ideas and really great work."
That theme ran through the night. Three of the four competitive winners, Scott, Khouri and Allen, lead their own independent labels, and the menswear winner still leads the company that bears his name. Vaccarello, meanwhile, was honoured as he leaves a house he led for ten years.
Beyond the trophies
Sara Moonves marked 30 years of the CFDA Scholarship Fund and announced a new award, the CFDA and WYouth Scholarship presented by Nuuly, which launches in 2027. Palmer, for her part, hosted in a 1970s Bob Mackie gown once worn by Raquel Welch, according to Elle.
For an awards show often accused of rewarding the same names, 2026 struck a balance. The establishment, in Lauren and Marino, was celebrated. Independent designers took three of the four competitive prizes. And the evening's most memorable line came from a winner who reminded the room how much work remains.
Featured image: Breakyunit, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped for this page; the cropped version is shared under the same CC BY-SA 3.0 licence.
