Tuesday March 11th,  at an exclusive event hosted by CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg and Nadja Swarovski, the nominees and honorees for the 2014 CFDA Fashion Awards were announced.

In collaboration with Swarovski, the 2014 CFDA Fashion Awards will take place on Monday, June 2^nd at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.

“Swarovski is proud to announce its partnership with the CFDA Fashion Awards for the thirteenth consecutive year,” said Nadja Swarovski. “We have a long-lasting and ongoing mission to support emerging talent in the fashion industry, and The CFDA Fashion Awards is the perfect platform to embrace the next generation of American designers.”

Before the nominees were revealed, it was announced that film director and screenwriter John Waters will host this year’s CFDA Fashion Awards.  In 2012, Waters presented the International Award to Rei Kawakubo and the Fashion Icon Award to Johnny Depp. “I’m so excited to be invited back,” Waters commented through a statement, “and I look forward to taking the stage to celebrate the thin line that divides fashion between glamour and creative insanity.”

Von Furstenberg started the proceedings by thanking Nadja and Swarovski for their continued collaboration with the CFDA in support of American Fashion.

Nadja Swarovski, Von Furstenberg and CFDA CEO Steven Kolb made the announcements of nominees and honorees.

The nominees for Womenswear Designer of the Year Award are Alexander Wang, Joseph Altuzarra of Altuzarra, and Marc Jacobs.The Menswear Designer of the Year nominees are: Maxwell Osborne & Dao-Yi Chow for Public School, Marcus Wainwright & David Neville for Rag & Bone, and Thom Browne. For Accessories Designer of the Year Award the nominees are Alexander Wang, Lazaro Hernandez & Jack McCollough for Proenza Schouler, and Mary-Kate Olsen & Ashley Olsen for The Row.

Shane Gabier & Christopher Peters for Creatures of the Wind, Rosie Assoulin, and Wes Gordon have been nominated for the Swarovski Award for Womenswear. The nominees for the Swarovski Award for Menswear are Tim Coppens, Todd Snyder, and Shayne Oliver for Hood by Air. For the Swarovski Award for Accessory Design, the nominees are Irene Neuwirth, Jennifer Fisher,and Marc Alary.

The Swarovski Award recipients in each category will receive generous financial support from Swarovski as well as exposure to the company’s vast and innovative Swarovski crystal resources.

The honorary awards go to a diverse group of fashion luminaries. The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, named for the fiercely independent, four-time CFDA Fashion Award winner, will be presented to Tom Ford.  

The Media Award, given in honor of Eugenia Sheppard, the influential journalist who revolutionized fashion reporting during her time at the New York City Herald Tribune, will be given to Paul Cavaco.  

The Founders Award, given in honor of CFDA founder Eleanor Lambert who is widely credited with putting American fashion on the map, will go to Bethann Hardison.

The Board of Director’s Tribute Award goes to Ruth Finley for her indelible contributions to the world fashion.

The International Award will go to Raf Simons for his creative contribution to the international fashion stage.
“The CFDA Fashion Awards are a fashion institution. It is an evening that not only celebrates all generations of American design talent, but also reinforces our industry’s growing influence across the globe,” said Steven Kolb, CFDA CEO. “This year’s nominees and honorees represent the best and most creative talent of the past year as determined by a Guild of their peers.  We look forward to announcing our winners on June 2 and thank Swarovski for its long time commitment to and support of the event.”

Nominations for each award category are submitted by the CFDA Fashion Awards Guild, made up of the 450+ members of the CFDA, along with top fashion retailers, journalists, and stylists. The nominees, as well as recipients of the honorary awards, were confirmed earlier today at a meeting of the CFDA Board of Directors.

This year, Intel has signed on as the Official Technology Sponsor and MAC Cosmetics is the Official Beauty Sponsor.

Returning sponsors include:

Lexus, Official Automotive Sponsor

Veuve Clicquot, Official Champagne Sponsor

Proximo, Official Spirits Sponsor

The final votes will be tabulated by Ernst & Young LLP, the official accounting firm of the 2014 CFDA Fashion Awards.

The 2014 CFDA Fashion Awards will be produced by KCD.

Collateral will be art directed by Laird + Partners.

Images from the nominee and honoree announcement event are available at BFA: bfanyc.com.