John Waters, Yigal Azrouël and More Talk American Fashion at the CFDA After-Party
Photos: Patrick McMullan
Erin Fetherston, Laura Vidrequin and Yigal Azrouël (left); Adrian Joffe and John Waters (right).
Break out those Reformers. A midriff of steel was clearly the accessory of choice at last night's CFDA Awards, with Kate Bosworth, Karen Elson, Zoe Saldana and Hilary Rhoda among those sporting cutout-heavy looks. But for our money, the best dressed of the night was John Waters, dapper in a multicolored Comme des Garçons suit. Waters, who was there to accept awards for Rei Kawakubo and Johnny Depp, told us that he and Kawakubo go way back; in fact, he used to model for her.
Since the night was all about American fashion, we asked the director what, in his opinion, was the quintessential American look.
"You're asking the wrong person," he replied, guffawing. "I wouldn't wear it, whatever it is."
Post-awards, designers and their celebrity dates gathered for Swarovski's official CFDA after-party at the Top of the Standard, where Mia Moretti was DJ'ing, and reflected on their personal highlights from the evening.
"I liked the Marc Jacobs joke thing that was happening," said Yigal Azrouël, referring to host Seth Meyers' cheeky donning of the CDG lace dress-and-boxers ensemble Jacobs wore to the Met Ball.
"I have to say, it was Seth Meyers wearing the Marc Jacobs Met Ball outfit," concurred Erin Fetherston, who also cited the Tommy Hilfiger retrospective montage as a watershed moment. "Tommy made the 'American look' look so much better than it really is."
Jen Kao told us, "The acceptance speech for Rei Kawakubo honestly almost brought me to tears. I'm a huge Kawakubo fan, and [Waters] was so on point about what her aesthetic is, and the type of people [who] wear it. I'm a big advocate for that kind of fashion."
The designer, who told us she's hard at work on a diffusion line, reflected, "I feel like American style gets a lot of bad flak sometimes, but I think it's a lot about independent dressing. It can be something so iconic to Americana, like Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger, or it can be something that's just about owning yourself."
"American fashion is way more global [today,]" said French-born Catherine Malandrino. "There [are] a lot of designers bringing their feelings, their feedback, their sensibility. American fashion has become at least as big as Paris fashion."
Plus, check out all the looks from the red carpet in the gallery below:
