Stars line up to present top prizes at 2026 CFDA Fashion Awards

Lupita Nyong'o, Matt Damon, Naomi Osaka and Cole Escola will hand out the top prizes at the 2026 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America, the US industry body for designers, will stage the ceremony on 2 November at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The event is presented by Amazon Fashion, the fashion arm of Amazon, the US retailer, and hosted by actor Keke Palmer, according to WWD.

Nyong'o will present American Womenswear Designer of the Year, the award for the leading designer of women's clothing. The nominees are Catherine Holstein for Khaite, Michael Kors, Rachel Scott for Diotima, Tory Burch, and Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera.

Damon will present American Menswear Designer of the Year, the counterpart prize for men's clothing. The nominees are Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne for Public School New York, Ralph Lauren, Thom Browne, Todd Snyder, and Willy Chavarria.

Osaka will present American Accessory Designer of the Year, which covers products such as bags, shoes and jewellery. The nominees are Ana Khouri, Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen for The Row, Raul Lopez for Luar, Sophie Buhai, and Stuart Vevers for Coach.

Escola will present the Google American Emerging Designer of the Year award, backed by Google, the US technology company, for newer names. The nominees are Colleen Allen, Emily Dawn Long, Julia Ferentinos for Juju Vera, Julian Louie for Aubero, and Zane Li for Lii.

Nominees and winners in all four categories are decided by the CFDA Fashion Awards Guild, the voting group of industry members, editors and retailers. Voting closes on 23 October.

For fans, this means a fashion night with faces from well beyond fashion. Film, sport and comedy take the stage. The designers take the prizes.