The 2026 CFDA Awards, better known as the Oscars of Fashion, celebrated a plethora of influential and well-known talent within the fashion world. Hosted at New York City’s iconic American Museum of Natural History, designers and audiences of all kinds flocked to attend the ceremony, now in its 45th year. Additionally, it also shone a spotlight on a handful of emerging artists already making major headway throughout the industry with the Emerging Designer award.
“American fashion is at the center of the world and at the center of the spirit of our time,” he said. “It’s never been more important to tell important stories,” said Thom Browne, CFDA’s chairman of the board of directors at the ceremony.
Winning the Emerging Designer Award this year was Colleen Allen, a New York-based fashion designer and graduate of Parsons and Central Saint Martins, known for her romantic, Victorian-gothic womenswear. Previously, she was a semi-finalist for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. Additionally, popular celebrities like Nicole Kidman, Lily Allen, Emma Stone, and Lady Gaga have worn her designs.
The four other nominees for the award include New York City-based fashion designer and Georgia native Emily Dawn Long, New York-based fashion designer and jeweler Julia Ferentinos, Brooklyn, New York-based artist Julian Louie, and New York-based fashion designer Zane Li.
The CFDA and Vogue also revealed the finalists for their Fashion Fund, which include: Aisling Camps, Amir Taghi, Terrence Zhou, Emily Dawn Long, Jamie Haller, Julia Ferentinos, Zane Li, and George Inaki.
