Anna Wintour wore emerald green. Tory Burch, an inspiration for change.

The occasion was Monday’s CFDA Fashion Awards presented by Amazon Fashion at the American Museum of Natural History, where Wintour presented Burch with the Positive Change Award. The tribute had the warmth of a conversation between friends, albeit one conducted before a roomful of designers, editors and exceptionally well-dressed celebrities.

“The quality of positive change is so much a part of who Tory is that I’m not sure she could be any other way if she tried,” Wintour said.

Burch spoke about starting before every resource is in place. It was an idea suited to an audience familiar with the distance between having a vision and persuading someone to finance it.

Fashion is practiced collectively and celebrated, more often, under individual names. At the awards, presented by Amazon Fashion, the people accepting the trophies seemed particularly inclined to correct that imbalance. Parents, partners, mentors and collaborators figured prominently in the speeches. So did the people who had recognized something before anyone else knew to look.

There was plenty to look at.

Allison Janney arrived in hot-pink Christian Siriano, her exaggerated sleeves making a persuasive case for taking up space. Shaboozey wore a white Western suit with a statement belt; Giancarlo Esposito wore Public School. Rose Byrne accompanied Wes Gordon. Law Roach, Brandy, Monica and Sergio Hudson made another formidable gathering.

Inside, Future sat beside Travis Scott, and Wintour beside Matt Damon. Students surveyed a room populated by people whose careers they might hope to follow. Editors Nicole Phelps, Virginia Smith, Tonne Goodman, Nikki Ogunnaike, Nina Garcia and Willow Lindley were among the guests, as were Pamela Anderson, Hailey Bieber and Lila Moss.

Keke Palmer, the evening’s host, moved through three vintage looks: a 1970s Stephen Burrows number, a 1975 Bob Mackie gown designed for Raquel Welch, and 1970s Marc Bouwer look – with her amber hair restyled for each change. Recalling wearing Tory Burch early in her career, she offered a more personal account of what a designer’s work can mean.

“We aren’t just wearing clothes,” Palmer exclaimed. “We’re wearing a conversation; a statement and a moment!”

For Linda Fargo, clothes have also been the beginning of an elaborate invitation.

The Bergdorf Goodman fashion director received the Founder’s Award in honor of Eleanor Lambert, presented by Michael Kors. After 30 years at the store, Fargo has helped make the act of looking almost as consequential as the act of buying. Her custom, floor-length Michael Kors gown was deep red, echoing the lipstick that has become as recognizable as her silver bob.

Asked about the influence she hopes to have, Fargo began with her place of employment.

“Let’s remember I work at Bergdorf Goodman,” she said. “I feel like I’ve fused this world of fashion with retail but brought it together in a way that hopefully feels artistic and hopefully the designers feel honored to see the way we interpret their collection.”

Her ambitions extend beyond a well-arranged selling floor.

“I do hope that I’ve brought fantasy and retail theater,” she continued. “I hope I always take it somewhere unexpected and create a world that people are drawn into.”

Her own wardrobe, it turns out, has a succession plan. Fargo has designated pieces in her will for friends and family.

“I’m more organized in death than in life,” she said. “I see them belonging to someone else later.”

Onstage, she acknowledged Dawn Mello and made room for beauty and creativity in an industry conversation so often dominated by business.

That broader view of fashion ran through the evening’s honorary awards. Photographers Inez  and Vinoodh received the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award. “Clothes can change your life,” Inez said, praising designers’ ability to make people feel more confident and at ease. Eva Chen, accepting the Media Award in honor of Eugenia Sheppard, thanked her parents and invoked the Notorious B.I.G.’s “It Was All a Dream.”

Susan Cianciolo received the Isabel Toledo Board of Directors’ Tribute.

Demi Moore found her connection between generations in a denim jacket.

Giving Gap Inc. Innovation Award presented by Amazon Fashion, she recalled the cropped jacket she wore in a 1990 campaign and a look her daughter Rumer later recreated.

“I love that something as simple as a denim jacket could become this beautiful little thread between us, connecting generations,” Moore said.

Richard Dickson, Gap Inc.’s president and chief executive, accepted alongside Zac Posen, its executive vice president and creative director, whom Moore has known since he was 21.

Before the ceremony, Posen spoke about another influence: San Francisco, where his work with Gap has brought him. He began with “the nature, the water, the stones at Point Reyes,” then turned to the city itself.

“The cultural mix of San Francisco is kind of unprecedented,” he said. “It’s history and innovation at the same time.”

Cornelia Guest took a less reverential approach to introducing Peter Marino, the architect receiving the Fashion Icon Award. She called him her “leather daddy.” Marino, in turn, joked about his preference for all-leather. “Until tonight, I always thought that my wardrobe was only appreciated in certain clubs after midnight,” he said.

The competitive awards recognized distinct propositions about American design. Naomi Osaka and Joseph Altuzarra presented Ana Khouri with American Accessory Designer of the Year. Colleen Allen, who received the Google American Emerging Designer of the Year award from Cole Escola and Gabriela Hearst, dedicated the honor to her parents and partner. Matt Damon and Tremaine Emory presented American Menswear Designer of the Year to Ralph Lauren, who received a standing ovation.

Damon was candid about the limits of his own fashion expertise. Clothes interest him most when he is preparing to inhabit someone else: how a character lives, what he wears and what those choices reveal.

“I must admit in my life I’m not very fashion conscious,” he said, acknowledging the assistance he receives dressing for occasions such as this one.

His conversation with Wintour, however, had ample territory to cover.

“Anna is an incredible theater-goer,” he said. “So we have a lot in common.”

That made her enjoyable company, he added, “because in terms of fashion, I’m usually out of depth.”

Rachel Scott of Diotima, named the 2026 American Womenswear Designer of the Year, admitted she had not prepared a thank-you speech. She had, however, sought help in the room in case she needed one.

When her name was called, there was much she wanted to say.

Scott thanked Thom Browne, the CFDA and the women who had supported her, including her wife. “I will be forever grateful in every lifetime for what you’ve done for me,” she said.

Then she addressed the responsibility accompanying the recognition, describing “a world where independence and marginalized voices are systematically quieted.”

“I feel extremely lucky and extremely responsible,” Scott said. “We have a lot of work to do starting tomorrow morning.”

Anthony Vaccarello, receiving International Designer of the Year, defended fashion’s capacity to provoke a response that need not be easily resolved. Zoë Kravitz, Rosé and Hailey Bieber were among those wearing Saint Laurent that evening.

“Sometimes it should make you uncomfortable and it’s fine,” he said. “Not everything needs to be explained.”

June Ambrose, wearing Marc Jacobs, was considering a different question: who gets credit for the ideas that travel.

The stylist and costume designer spoke about American fashion’s influence on European design and the contribution of music videos to its visual vocabulary.

“As a costume designer myself, knowing my contribution in music videos, I’ve seen my influence across the pond as well,” she said.

Wintour described the evening in terms of mutual regard.

“What’s so wonderful about American fashion is that everyone in the room wishes the best for each other,” she said. “There is genuine love, support and respect for what everybody in this room does.”

The gathering reminded her of the Tony Awards, another occasion when a creative community assembles to applaud its own.

“And the night before the 2026 midterms,” she added, “what could be better than that?”

Asked what continues to draw her to emerging designers, Wintour emphasized individuality and authenticity. She recalled encountering Thom Browne’s work for the first time.

“I said, ‘I’ve never seen this before,’” she said. “And it was real and genuine and coming from within. That’s what I look for, and it doesn’t happen every day, but it does happen.”

For all the evening’s established names, that possibility remained its most compelling promise: someone in the room might still show fashion something it had never seen.

Scott, with a trophy in hand, already had her attention on the next morning.