NEW YORK — Fashion designers know the importance of good accessories, so many of them chose to dress up their outfits for the Council of Fashion Designers of America with Hollywood stars.
Hilary Duff was on the arm of Michael Kors Monday night and Calvin Klein’s Francisco Costa surrounded himself with Eva Mendes and Ashley Olsen. Jill Hennessy came with Nicole Miller.
Hennessy, in a strapless green gown by Miller, said she’s been a loyal friend and fan of the designer for more than a decade.
“Twelve years ago, she decided she wanted a runway show with actors,” Hennessy recalled. “She was so sweet, incredibly generous and she made me feel like a million bucks. I thought I’d stick around with her.” Hennessy said she loves being surrounded by fashion but she doesn’t spend most of her time dressed up. “My wardrobe tends to be more casual. I go to the beach. I like color and casual.”
THE SHOE DOESN’T ALWAYS FIT: The women attending the CFDA awards surely planned a head-to-toe look. The event, after all, is one of the fashion industry’s biggest of the year.
Eva Longoria Parker, for example, had on gold stiletto pumps to match the gold beading of the neckline of her hot-pink dress, and Victoria Beckham wore vampy black sandals with her black and white minidress.
Some of the men, however, took a different approach — especially with their footwear.
Isaac Mizrahi wore flip-flops with his suit (the better to show off his silver toenail polish), and Band of Outsiders’ designer Scott Sternberg wore boat shoes with his. Zac Posen had on a stacked-heel boot.
Narciso Rodriguez sheepishly explained his white sneakers at the cocktail-attire affair at the New York Public Library. “It was mayhem today. My resort collection has to be done by Wednesday. I didn’t have time to get home.” Saks Fifth Avenue fashion director Michael Fink paired his white dinner jacket with purposely scuffed white linen bucks. “It’s how they come.
It’s all about style.”
LIFETIME FRIENDS: Calvin Klein presented longtime friend Carolina Herrera with her lifetime achievement award. Klein told the crowd that Herrera’s very stylish Venezuelan family thought her desire to be a designer was merely a whim. Her husband Ronaldo, whom Klein said has turned out to be her biggest champion, gave it 15 minutes.
That was 27 years ago.
“I want to think of this award as a half-lifetime achievement award,” Klein said, noting that the fashion world Herrera needs more of Herrera’s refined, sophisticated and modern style.
It’s a style she wears well, he added.
Klein shared a memory of a European vacation they once took together: No matter what time of day, the activity or the temperature, Herrera was always the best-dressed woman there.
A GOLD STATUETTE: Candy Pratts Price, the executive fashion editor of , received the CFDA’s Eugenia Shepherd award for fashion journalism, and she strutted to the stage in a trophy outfit, a metallic, embroidered one-shoulder ensemble by Vera Wang.
“I wanted to be award-looking!” said Pratts Price. “I feel like she’s built a building!” Choosing the right dress for this fashion-forward crowd wasn’t easy, she said, but she knew it had to be fabulous.
“Andre Leon Talley (Vogue editor at large) sent me e-mail after e-mail telling me, ‘Don’t tone it down.’ I think he’ll be pleased.”
