The CFDA Awards: Designers on Display

The CFDA Awards Designers on Display
At the annual fashion awards this week, where honors were handed out by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, one had the opportunity to see how those in the business of style interpret it for themselves. In truth, it's not fair to assume that designers are the best advertisement for their own work. After all, the engineer who builds the race car is not necessarily the person who drives it to its full potential. A great coach isn't necessarily a world-class athlete.

Still, it's human nature to wonder whether the designers wear any of the folderol seen in their collections. Did Donna Karan, who received a lifetime achievement award, wear a chartreuse gown that looked artfully gnawed? Yes, she did. Did the temporarily retired Tom Ford turn out in any of the porn star finery from his Gucci oeuvre? Absolutely not. The designer, who received a special award from the CFDA board of directors, wore a classic tuxedo with a matching black four-in-hand. He did, however, kiss the presenter -- Fairchild Publications' Patrick McCarthy -- full on the mouth in an Adrien Brody- at-the-Oscars manner. Not be outdone, Karan planted a similarly ostentatious smacker on presenter Susan Sarandon.

It may be that only dedicated followers of fashion will ever remember who wins the CFDA awards. In a way it doesn't matter.