Awards can be a lot like competitive sports. Everyone wants to win but only one will succeed.

At Monday’s 2024 CFDA Fashion Awards presented by Amazon Fashion, host Cynthia Erivo threw down the ultimate gauntlet in the most fashionable way.

“You have all been part of an elaborate ruse to place myself in front of my unwilling nemesis,” Erivo told the high-fashion audience. “A man has spent this last year or so forcing me to raise the stakes on my nail prowess, because I refuse to be outdone. Mr. Marc Jacobs, this must come to an end, it simply cannot go on. I challenge you to a nail duel at a salon of your choice.”

It was just one of many major moments at the American Museum of Natural History that night.

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie reunited on stage to present the American Accessory Designer of the Year award in their own special way via a brilliant riff that reminded us of how much we missed them and “The Simple Life.”

“Fashion without accessories is like social media without influencers,” Hilton said.

“Or like a brunch without mimosas…What’s the point?” Richie said.

“Or like blondes without tiny dogs – practically unrecognizable,” Hilton countered.

“Or without statement jewelry, designer bags, or questionable life choices,” Richie stated.

LOL.

Luckily for us, “The Simple Life” reboot, “Paris & Nicole: The Encore,” is on its way.

Fun was complimented with many heartfelt moments, including Jacobs’s words for Founder’s Award in Honor of Eleanor Lambert recipient Hamish Bowles.

“There’s also no one with a more avid eye for fashion’s present and future,” Jacobs said, “the way that it exists not just as a concept or a new collection, but as the spark of an entire creative world that we can live within.”

Molly Ringwald introduced the newly-renamed Isabel Toledo Board of Directors’ Tribute, recalling  first meeting the designer and her husband Ruben at an intimate dinner party Ingrid Sischy hosted for Karl Lagerfeld.

“I remember Isabel wearing this huge necklace that consisted of multiple keys, big, beautiful, old-fashioned keys,” Ringwald recalled. “In addition to being such a bold and cool fashion choice, it gave me the impression that Isabel knew something that I didn’t – that around her neck,  those keys held the secret mysteries of the world. I wanted to know more.” So do we.

From Toledo to Bowles, Daniel Roseberry, Stuart Vevers, Michael Kors, Annie Leibovitz, Stephen Burrows, it was a night of many fashion legends and current winners Raul Lopez (Accessory), Willy Chavarria (Menswear), and Henry Zankov (Google Shopping Emerging).

Addressing the members of the American fashion family, American Womenswear Designer of the Year award recipient Rachel Scott of Diotima recalled how, before a recent presentation, she couldn’t secure footwear for the looks. A fellow designer – unnamed but present in the room – got wind of the situation and offered shoes for the show. “This is a very special community,” Scott said.

Leave it to our 2024 Fashion Icon Erykah Badu to deliver some of the most memorable moments of the night.

“Brothers, can you all dress? Well, I can and that’s why I am here,” she said, “because it’s a sport for me.  It’s my therapy. It’s my workout. It’s my husband. It gives me inspiration.

“The colors I am attracted to, the amulets and talisman…they are my personal power,” she added. “I have a relationship with them. The world is a private joke between me and my things.”

And of course, Ms. Badu was always destined to be a CFDA Fashion Icon. “I’ve been trying to win this award since I was six,” she said. “I’ve been waiting a long time.”

Good things come to those who wait indeed.