Hosted on Nov. 3, 2025 by Teyana Taylor, figures like Anna Wintour, Jennifer Lawrence, and Julianne Moore presented a total of 12 awards to some of the biggest figures in fashion for 2025. Some trophies granted were more competitive, with awards like “American Womenswear Designer of the Year” and “American Accessory Designer of the Year” being presented alongside more honor based rewards like “Fashion Icon of the Year” and the “Positive Change Award”. Let’s talk about some of these winners.
Out of the designers Wes Gordon, Rachel Scott, Daniella Kallmeyer, Ralph Lauren, and Tory Burch; Naomi Watts presented Ralph Lauren with the American Womenswear Designer of the Year. Ralph Lauren is a fashion designer and the current chairman of the Ralph Lauren brand. Lauren founded the brand in 1967 under the name “Polo”, starting off as a brand of neckties. It wasn’t until 1972 that Lauren debuted his first full womenswear line. Now, Polo Ralph Lauren is just one of the many sub-brands under the high-end brand Ralph Lauren, a brand that has won many other CFDA awards including the Menswear Designer of the Year in 1996 and the American Fashion Legend Award nearly a decade later in 2007.
The nominees for the American Menswear Designer of the Year included the designers Mike Amiri, Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, Thom Browne, and Willy Chavarria. Mark Ronson presented designer Thom Browne with the award. Browne is not only a fashion designer but the current chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), as of 2023. The brand Thom Browne was founded in 2001 and focuses on the tailoring of men’s clothing, but also has a womenswear line that launched in 2011. The brand has won the same award in 2006, 2013, and 2016.
The Olsen twins (Mary-Kate and Ashley) took home the American Accessory Designer of the Year over designers; Ana Khouri, Catherine Holstein, Raul Lopez, and Tory Burch.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, formerly actresses on the 90s sitcom Full House, are the founders of the designer brand The Row, established in 2006 by the twins in New York City. The Row has been granted the CFDA Womenswear award twice in the past and the Accessory Designer award 4 times in the years 2014, 2018, 2019, and 2023.
Some of the less competitive awards and winners include: the Fashion Icon award presented to A$AP Rocky by Anna Wintour, the Positive Change Award presented by Amber Valletta to fashion designer Donatella Versace, and the The Founder’s Award which was presented to Cynthia Rowley by Julianne Moore. The next major CFDA event will be held a year from now, in late 2026 to present awards to the major fashion figures of the next year.
