It seems we have very good taste here at The Glow Up—though truthfully, we already knew this. After all, we honored legendary luxe streetwear pioneer Dapper Dan with our lifetime achievement award when we launched the TGU 50 in 2020, making it extra official by naming the award after him in perpetuity. (The “Dap Award” has quite the ring to it, no?)
It seems we’re also in very good company in our admiration for one of Harlem’s finest. Honorees and nominees for the 2021 CFDA Awards were announced this week, and like us, the Council of Fashion Designers of America believes Dap’s is a legacy worth celebrating. He will be honored with the Geoffrey Beene lifetime achievement award at this year’s in-person ceremony on November 10. According to Vogue, the man born Daniel Day is the first designer without a fashion show ever to win the honor.
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Another TGU50 honoree will experience a first at this year’s ceremony; designer-activist Aurora James has been nominated for a CFDA Award in years past, but in addition to her 2021 nomination for American Accessories Designer of the Year for her stellar work at Brother Vellies, James will also be honored with the Founder’s Award in Honor of Eleanor Lambert for her groundbreaking launch of the 15 Percent Pledge. Launched last June, the initiative has successfully lobbied an increasing number of major retailers to allocate 15 percent or more of their inventory to Black-owned products or creators, including Sephora, Macy’s and the Gap. James, who was also named one of the 2021 Time100 this week and also designed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s headline-making gown for Monday’s Met Gala, captioned an Instagram post:
Wow. Guys! What a week and what an incredible honor. I am so proud of the work we have done with 15 Percent Pledge. Biggest thank you to my incredible team of women who work tirelessly in this fight for economic justice and racial equity every single day…I promise you, the best is yet to come. The work is just getting started.
James is among several Black designers making their return to the nominee list this year, including Virgil Abloh and 2020 CFDA Award winners (and TGU50 honorees) Telfar Clemens and Christopher John Rogers, both of whom previously won CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in 2017 and 2019, respectively. 2020 British Fashion Award winner Grace Wales Bonner also garnered a CFDA nom for International Men’s Designer, while Fear of God’s Jerry Lorenzo snagged a first-time nomination for American Menswear Designer of the Year. And the Emerging Designer of the Year category is especially exciting for us, as three of its five nominees are Black: Evdin Thompson for Theophilio, Jameel Mohammed for KHIRY, and Kenneth Nicholson.
“American fashion is experiencing a renewed energy, and these designers play a significant role in the future trajectory of our industry,” said CFDA CEO Steven Kolb in a statement to Vogue.
The 2021 CFDA Awards will take place in person on November 10 at New York City’s The Pool Room; the full list of nominees and honorees is below (Black talents bolded by us). The CFDA teases that more will be announced closer to the ceremony date.
Aurora James for the 15 Percent Pledge
Patagonia
Nina Garcia
Yeohlee Teng
Dapper Dan
Catherine Holstein for Khaite
Christopher John Rogers
Gabriela Hearst
Marc Jacobs
Peter Do
Emily Adams Bode for Bode
Jerry Lorenzo for Fear of God
Mike Amiri for Amiri
Telfar Clemens for Telfar
Thom Browne
Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row
Aurora James for Brother Vellies
Gabriela Hearst
Stuart Vevers for Coach
Telfar Clemens for Telfar
Edvin Thompson for Theophilio
Eli Russell Linnetz for ERL
Jameel Mohammed for Khiry
Kenneth Nicholson
Maisie Schloss for Maisie Wilen
Daniel Lee for Bottega Veneta
Demna Gvasalia for Balenciaga
Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons for Prada
Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino
Simon Porte Jacquemus for Jacquemus
Daniel Lee for Bottega Veneta
Dries Van Noten
Grace Wales Bonner for Wales Bonner
Rick Owens
Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton
Straight From 
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