And the nominations go to:

For Womenswear Designer of the Year: Alexander Wang, Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler, Marc Jacobs

For Menswear Designer of the Year: Michael Bastian, Patrik Ervell, Simon Spurr

For Accessories Designer of the Year: Alexander Wang, Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler, Reed Krakoff

A number of designers have also been nominated for the Swarovski Awards:

For Womenswear Designer of the Year: Joseph Altuzarra, Ashley Olsen & Mary-Kate Olsen, Prabal Gurung

For Menswear Designer of the Year: Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim, Robert Geller

For Accessories Designer of the Year: Alejandro Ingelmo, Eddie Borgo, Jason Wu, Pamela Love

The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, named for the four-time CFDA Fashion Award winner, will be presented to Marc Jacobs.

The CFDA Board of Directors chose to present their Special Tribute on Arthur Elgort in honor of his impact on photography and fashion.

The Fashion Icon Award will go to Lady Gaga for being a fashion revolutionary impacting style today.

“We look forward to once again honoring the best and brightest talent working today,” Steven Kolb, CFDA executive director said. “Winning a CFDA Fashion Award is the highest and one of the most coveted honors one can receive in our industry.”

Who do you think will win each of these extremely prestigious fashion awards? Who are your picks for the best?

•Bid on a chance to meet Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour and attend a photo shoot for the magazine
•One full week’s stay at the private home of Diane von Furstenberg in the Bahamas
•Ralph Lauren’s Paris – Two Round Trip Business Class Tickets from NYC to Paris, two nights at the Bristol Hotel in a deluxe room, dinner for two at Ralph’s, the quintessential American restaurant in Paris, a 1,000 euro shopping experience at the Ralph Lauren store on St. Germain, and two tickets to visit “The Art of the Automobile: Masterpieces of the Ralph Lauren Collection,” an exclusive exhibit of Mr. Lauren’s vintage automobiles featured at the Musée des Arts décoratifs.
•Live like a Vanity Fair writer for a day—minus the torture of actually reporting and writing. The winning bidder will take a tour of the Vanity Fair offices, have lunch with one of the editors, sit in on a meeting in Graydon Carter’s office, and then finish off the day with a dinner for four at Mr. Carter’s restaurant, The Monkey Bar.
Night: 2 tickets and backstage passes to Jay-Z and Kanye West’s concert
•Morning, Noon & Night with Tory Burch – Morning: $3,000 shopping spree at Tory Burch with a personal stylist; Noon: Lunch with Tory and the design team;
•Lunch and style consultation with celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe, includes a tour of her offices and additional styling tips from her team
•Go behind the scenes with The Hilfigers at the Spring 2012 Tommy Hilfiger ad campaign shoot. Get prepped out in a full Tommy Hilfiger look at the brand’s Fifth Avenue store before having your photograph taken with the Hilfigers.
•A meet and greet with The Row designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen plus an entire wardrobe of Elizabeth and James and The Row Collections
•Two tickets to the Elton John Oscar’s Party
•The opportunity to intern for a day at Elle Magazine along with a personal fashion consultation with Elle Creative Director Joe Zee
•Have a Barbie custom made by Mattel in your likeness, valued at over $10,000
•Courtesy of DKNY, enjoy a “VIP” experience at Yankee Stadium for four guests. Experience includes a private tour of Monument Park followed by watching the Yankees’ batting practice from the field, followed by a meet and greet with Yankees Manager Joe Girardi. Afterwards, watch the Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Rays on July 9th, 2011, from four front row Legends Suite seats
•A lunch and style consultation with TV Personality and Project Runway Judge Tim Gunn
•Two tickets to the Vera Wang Spring Summer 2012 Fashion Show followed by a meet and greet with the designer and a $2000 shopping spree at the Vera Wang flagship store
•The opportunity to personalize a PS1 ‘it’ bag with Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez
•A “Made to Measure Experience” custom suit and fitting from designer Tom Ford.
•Eight tickets to the Metropolitan Opera and dinner with Lincoln Center President Reynold Levy
•Two tickets to a live filming of “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” along with private cocktails with host Andy Cohen following the filming
•And many, many more……….

So get bidding on Charity Buzz, and support Japan in the most fashionable way possible (or any way you can).

“We have the clothes and shoes and the bags so we’re ready.  But it won’t just be my stuff…there’ll be things I love that I find on my travels,” she explained.  “It’s very exciting for me because I get to be a buyer now!”

Based on the widespread popularity of her bags we’d peg her for the Soho or West Village type, but like pointed out last night, she likes to do things differently.  (She used to go on the Purse Forum years ago, before blogs were a blip on anyone’s radar, and interact with her customers.)  So we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled in the East Village, or even Brooklyn.

(Via: Elle Magazine)

The CFDA and AAFA wholeheartedly support the bill, wanting to fight the knockoff industry with full force. Although the entire fashion industry is not behind the law, like the California Fashion Association, everyone backing the bill seems pleased with it.

It is uncertain if the Senate will vote on the bill before the December recess.

LINK LOVE: The Cut

Last week’s Fashion Week was no different than any other Fashion Week. Designers still scrambled to show off their edgy silhouetted designs. Celebrities still claimed coveted front row seats to Marc Jacobs and Balenciaga. And, once again, the runway lacked diversity. This time, however, the white domination of the catwalk has some fashion icons on edge.

It seems like this past Fashion Week tried to mask its lack of black runway models.In the past,The Council of Fashion Designers of America left ethnic diversity up to the designers. This year’s president, Diane von Furstenberg, urged all designers to keep their models racially varied. Sure, black models walked in DKNY and Tracy Reese, but what about the hundreds of other designers who used few, or even no black models? It takes more than a few designers to launch ethnic diversity in the fashion industry, and with the runways creeping back to white, the “black issue” is again on the rise. 

But is the tendency for white models a racist ploy by designers or merely in consciousness of their designs? Some designers claim to use mostly white models in order to keep the “ethnicity” of the model from influencing the interpretation of his or her design. Others claim that the black model is unavailable by the agencies. Some even claim that selection is natural, and ethnicity is never in consideration.

Indeed, it is the designers right to cast models regardless of race, but if designers are truly conscious of women, shouldn’t they consider “women” as a general term? Black. White. Asian. Hispanic. Middle Eastern. We’re all women, right? Show us you design for women. All of us.

Thanks Style and  Reuters!