The 2016 CFDA Fashion Awards Nominees Are Here—See Who Made the Cut

Don’t think a stormy and wet New York afternoon can stop the city’s fashionable set from being, well, fashionable. Fashion Week regulars like Rebecca Minkoff and Rosie Assoulin stepped into downtown's New Museum’s Sky Room on Wednesday to congratulate the nominees and honorees for the 2016 CFDA Fashion Awards.

As per tradition, CFDA Chairman Diane von Furstenberg, President and CEO Steven Kolb, and Nadja Swarovski took the stage to introduce a new crop of well-established and upcoming designers that truly pushed the industry in new, inventive ways in the past year. “The CFDA Fashion Awards honor the best and brightest talent in American fashion today,” Kolb said. “A CFDA Award is one of the most coveted honors in the fashion industry, and for the 15th consecutive year, the Awards are made possible with the invaluable support and involvement of Swarovski.”

The buzziest of nods, which will be presented at a ceremony on June 6 at Hammerstein Ballroom, include the International Award, which will go to Gucci’s Alessandro Michele, and The Founder’s Award, which will be given to Donna Karan. The Business of Fashion’s Imran Amed will receive the Media Award while The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Norma Kamali. Fittingly, the late David Bowie is set to receive the Board of Directors Tribute. A Fashion Icon Award, whose recipient is still unknown, will also be handed out (Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Pharrell Williams are past honorees).

For designer Joseph Altuzarra, a nominee for Womenswear Designer of the Year and Accessory Designer of the Year, being in the talented pool is a dream come true. “I’m very happy, feel very honored and I just feel very honored that my team and my work are recognized in this really amazing way, so it’s wonderful,” he told InStyle. So how does he fuel his always praised momentum? “I think having a healthy personal life outside of fashion is pretty important and I have a great family, a great husband, and really great friends. I think of my job as really fun and I have a lot of fun with our team, and it’s a mindset—I try to approach it with a lot of fun and playfulness.”

Minkoff looks forward to the awards each year, too. “You need that fresh injection, that fresh viewpoint, that unencumbered sort of youth. It’s always nice to see more new faces,” she told InStyle of young New York designers.

See all of the 2016 CFDA Fashion Awards nominees below.

Womenswear Designer of the Year Award
Joseph Altuzarra for Altuzarra
Marc Jacobs
Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler
Kate Mulleavy and Laura Mulleavy for Rodarte
Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row

Menswear Designer of the Year Award
Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne for Public School
Marcus Wainwright and David Neville for Rag & Bone
Tim Coppens
Thom Browne
Todd Snyder

Accessory Designer of the Year Award
Joseph Altuzarra for Altuzarra
Irene Neuwirth
Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel for Mansur Gavriel
Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler
Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row

Swarovski Award for Womenswear
Brandon Maxwell
Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia for Monse
Ryan Roche

Swarovski Award for Menswear
Rio Uribe for Gypsy Sport
John Elliott, Alex Orley, Matthew Orley and Samantha Orley for Orley

Swarovski Award for Accessory Design
Aurora James for Brother Vellies
Gigi Burris
Paul Andrew