What Do the 2025 CFDA Awards Say About Fashion Right Now?

On November 3, the annual CFDA Awards took place, honoring the most influential and excellent American designers of 2025. Established in 1981, the ceremony has become one of the most highly anticipated fashion events in the global industry. Among other honors like the Fashion Icon and the International Designer of the year, three prizes of the night consistently draw the most attention: American Womenswear Designer, American Menswear Designer, and American Accessories Designer.

However, after a run of more progressive picks in recent years, this year’s selections were noticeably safer and more familiar. Industry icon Ralph Lauren won the Womenswear Award, tailoring visionary Thom Browne won the Menswear Award, and the Olsen sisters’ The Row won the Accessories Award.

Across the big three, a thread of classicism was rather prominent, standing in stark contrast to 2024’s more diverse roster of winners: Rachel Scott of Diotima for Womenswear, Willy Chavarria for Menswear, and Raul Lopez of Luar for Accessories.

The change in tone is even more pronounced when one considers the winners of the last five years. In 2020, winners included Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss (Menswear) and Telfar Clemens of Telfar (Accessories).  The next year, Christopher John Rodgers (Womenswear), Emily Bode Aujla of Bode (Menswear), and Telfar (Accessories again) won the top prizes. In 2022, Catherine Holstein of 2016-born label Khaite (Womenswear) and Raul Lopez of Luar (Accessories) entered the mix with Bode (Menswear again) and both snagged the same titles the next year. Last but not least, in 2023, Willy Chavarria began his two-year winning streak in the Menswear category.

For the CFDA Awards, the first half of the 2020s was perhaps as progressive as ever. The mixture of underepresented identities, including Black, Latino, LGBTQ+, and women designers, was unprecedented. So why has the tone suddenly shifted?

The fashion industry has never existed in a vacuum; its movements and trends have always been closely tied to economic and social changes over time. 2025 is a particularly pivotal year in American fashion as brands and designers respond to a worldwide decrease in luxury spending, an uncertain US trade environment, and the country’s shift toward conservatism. In light of the unique situation, it appears that the CFDA ultimately decided to play it safe this year.

While there’s no doubt that Ralph Lauren remains one of America’s greatest and most influential designers, the brand isn’t known for reinventing the wheel. Having grown deep roots in the industry with its Americana aesthetics and prep-inspired collections, the brand has helped lay the blueprint of modern American style. Far from emerging, the 86-year-old designer won the first-ever CFDA Menswear Award in 1981 and has collected seven more CFDA awards in varied categories.

Thom Browne, who is interestingly also the current CFDA Board Chairman, is a relatively younger name compared to Lauren. The designer even worked under Lauren’s direction at Club Monaco in the late 90s before starting his namesake label in the 2000s. Still, echoes of Lauren’s sensibility remain present in his work, which reinterprets American tailoring with a uniform-inspired lens. While the designer has gained acclaim for his avant-garde runway spectacles, in practice, Browne’s retail channel operates differently. All it takes is a quick scroll through his webstore to see that the brand is pushing a rather conventional men’s wardrobe: black and gray standards emblazoned with his four stripes — not the outsized silhouettes and gender-bending styles of his fashion shows.

Finally, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen‘s The Row is perhaps the most minimal of the big three. The actress-turned-designer sisters started the brand in 2006 and have since become synonymous with “quiet luxury” through their understated style and exclusive format. The Row is absent from the runway, minuscule in its marketing, and uncompromising in its pricing strategy. Its logoless, mostly solid garments usually start at around $1000 USD and reach up to $12,500 for outerwear.

Together, these qualities offer a vivid contrast to the subversive visions and varied backgrounds of previous winners. When Jamaican-born/Brooklyn-based designer Rachel Scott won the Womenswear Award last year, her brand Diotima was only three years old. Willy Chavarria, who for much of his career was in obscurity, is unapologetic about social justice and proudly reps his Chicano identity. Dominican-American designer Raul Lopez has blurred the lines of avant-garde fashion and accessible streetwear, not only at Luar but also at Hood by Air.

All things considered, the 2025 CFDA Award winners raise an interesting question: Is the industry regressing? The Womenswear Award, which has honored emerging female designers for the last five years, has now gone to a man, who also has the most established CFDA legacy among the nominees. The Menswear Award, which was held by an innovative queer Mexican-American designer for the last two years, has gone to a long-established designer who also chairs the CFDA Board. And in Accessories, one of the most exclusive luxury brands takes the prize, whereas before, the award went to designers like Lopez and Clemens, who boast an ethos of access.

In short, just when it seemed CFDA’s doors were opening for industry outsiders, the tone shifted dramatically — but there’s still hope to be had. In terms of economics, the luxury slowdown appears to be on the mend for now, which could ease the industry’s caution next year. As for diversity and inclusion, Grace Wales Bonner‘s historic appointment as the first Black woman to lead a major fashion house at Hermès has the potential to influence the broader luxury sector, which has relied heavily on the same White male designers. Whether the winners signal a short-lived pushback on progress or a long-term shift in tone remains to be seen.

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