OBT Magazine

New York – With the news fresh of Diane von Furstenberg's election to serve a third term as president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, or CFDA, she joined Nadja Swarovski at her downtown store and studio in New York on Wednesday, March 17, to announce the nominees and honorees for the 2010 CFDA Fashion Awards, the "Oscars" of the fashion industry.

Sponsored by Swarovski, the winners of American fashion's highest honor will be announced on June 7 at Lincoln Center in New York. The awards will also include a special popular vote award for the second year in a row, open to the public. Starting April 1, people can vote for someone once a day for the L'Oreal sponsored award.

Von Furstenberg also announced that the CFDA Board of Directors will honor the late Alexander McQueen with their "Special Tribute Award."

Heavyweights Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan and Alexander Wang led the way with the nomination for womenswear designer of the year, while in the menswear category, Tom Ford, Michael Bastian and Marcus Wainwright & David Neville for Rag & Bone received nominations.

Marc Jacobs also received a nomination in the accessory designer of the year category, along with jewelry designer Alexis Bittar and Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough for Proenza Schouler, whose recent handbag designs have been retail hits.

Swarovski also sponsors three awards for emerging talent in the same categories. This year, Jason Wu, Joseph Altuzarra and Prabal Gurung were nominated for womenswear, Richard Chai, Patrik Ervell, and Simon Spurr for menswear and Eddie Borgo, Dana Lorenz of Fenton/Fallon, and Alexander Wang for accessories.

"From our point of view, of a corporation, it's really great to be able to use the corporate muscle to help people in the industry, and especially to help young talent," said Nadja Swarovski. "So often, the financing can make or break the show."

Michael Kors will receive the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement award.

"It's a total surprise!" said Kors. "It's very exciting. Next year will be my 30th year in business. I never think about it in terms of lifetime, but of course, it has been a lifetime in fashion. I still feel like a kid, I feel like I just started."

Other honorees will include Kim Hastreiter of Paper Magazine for the Eugenia Sheppard award, Christopher Bailey of Burberry for the International award, Iman for the Fashion Icon award, and editor Tonne Goodman of Vogue for the Eleanor Lambert Award.

Post-announcement, von Furstenberg emphasized her priorities for her third term, which will end Dec. 31, 2012.

"I just want to continue the work we have done, and I hope we pass the law," said von Furstenberg, referring to the Design Piracy Prohibition Act, a bill that was introduced in Congress last April. If passed, the law would protect original fashion designs for a period of three years from their registration with the U.S. Copyright Office.

For the first time this year, fashion bloggers were invited to participate in the nomination and voting process, which previously had only included representatives from more traditional media outlets and established members of the industry.

"It's interesting, because it's really adding to the dynamic, and it will probably make it a bit more neutral, more objective," said Swarovski. "And it bridges the gap between the industry and the consumer. Often, whenever something is too industry-oriented, it can also become too political. So I think it's good."