The historic lobby of 100 Barclay is usually admired for its art deco grandeur, but on Wednesday night, crystals were all the rage. The reason: Swarovski and the CFDA celebrated the 2016 CFDA Fashion Awards Swarovski nominees with a memorable “fashion carnival” theme. It came replete with a giant pinwheel made from custom crystal pennants created by each nominee, crystal turbans, two tarot card readers amid exquisite Swarovski pieces from Bergdorf Goodman’s holiday windows, and carnival attendants in Atelier Swarovski jewelry and Gigi Burris headpieces.
Revelers included Jennifer Fisher, Chris Gelinas, David Hart, Yigal Azrouel, Eva Zuckerman, Tanya Taylor, Ruthie Davis, and Marc Alary, as well as Swarovski nominees Brandon Maxwell, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, and Ryan Roche (Womenswear); Rio Uribe, Alex, Matthew and Samantha Orley (Menswear), and Aurora James, Gigi Burris and Paul Andrew (Accessory Design). John Elliott, who is nominated for menswear, is based in Los Angeles and couldn’t attend.
The pinwheel and adjacent photo booth were among the main attractions. Maxwell, who brand is based on the women in his life including his grandmother, mother and sister, wanted his pennant to feature a woman and so he wanted to translate his first editorial image, in CR magazine, onto the pennant in crystals. “I initially did it on black Plexiglass, and when we heat-set 5,000 crystals on the first pennant, the Plexi curled into a ball. We had to make another one and hand-apply the 5,000 crystals.”
Uribe’s was informed by earth. “I wanted to do something that represents where we live,” he said. “I used some old blue jeans, cut them up into the shape of the pennant, and added the crystals and a gold fringe.”
The designer was in line to get his tarot cards read, though he really only wished to hear one thing: “That I am winning the Swarovski Award.”
Earlier in the day, the eight nominees gathered at Parsons School of Design. It’s graduation season and CFDA Awards season, which turn out to be more similar than one would think. Designers, like a lot like students, reflect on what they have learned over the years and through each collection. Swarovski hosted a discussion moderated by The Business of Fashion’s Lauren Sherman with the emerging designer brands. In front of Parsons design students, the nominees went up by design category and were asked about their beginnings and point of view. Each nominee, in business for less than five years, made it clear that making a niche for themselves within the industry has been key. CFDA summed up a few pearls of wisdom they’ve learned along the way.
- “If you don’t have a point of view or it’s too specific that it’s a 6 month trend- you’re going to struggle.”– Alex Orley, Orley
- “We can’t stress enough how important is it to work somewhere else – makes knowing the process easier when you go to start your own brand.”- Fernando Garcia, Monse
- “I focused on doing what I love which was selling to Instagram fans direct to consumer and then people started paying attention.”- Aurora James, Bother Vellies
- “We’re in the business of ups and downs, so maintain your relationships and stay on good terms with any employers.”- Brandon Maxwell
- “Asking for help is always ok. At one point, someone was in your shoes” – Rio Uribe, Gypsy Sport
