| EVENT REPORT 06.05.08 12:27 PM |
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| Garden Party |
| The CFDA Awards left the New York Public Library mid-party this year for a quick walk through the park and dinner at the adjacent Bryant Park Grill. |
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The Council of Fashion Designers of America switched gears for its 2008 award ceremony, held Monday night at the New York Public Library. Frustrations over the length of the show prompted organizers to forgo the formal cocktail hour this year, hold the ceremony theater-style, and then send guests like Victoria Beckham, Eva Longoria Parker, and Marc Jacobs on a scenic walk through Bryant Park to a garden-themed dinner at the Bryant Park Grill.
Changes became clear during the arrivals. Gone was the grand runway on the steps of the library's Fifth Avenue entrance, with guests instead pulling up on 42nd Street just west of Fifth for easier access to the Celeste Bartos Forum. Glowing orange and pink, the forum looked only a few palm fronds short of a South Beach club. Over the course of the ceremony, CFDA honored designers like Tom Ford, Francisco Costa, and Tory Burch as a slew of famous presenters joined M.C. Fran Lebowitz onstage during the two-hour production, after designer and CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg started the night with an ode to Yves Saint Laurent, who died this past weekend. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | A cascading fountain of Swarovski crystals designed by Vincent Van Duysen greeted guests near the library's side entrance.
Photo: Evan Agostini/Elevation Photos |
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 | Shades of pink and purple dominated the lighting of the award ceremony.
Photo: Evan Agostini/Elevation Photos |
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 | Banquettes upholstered in orange linen lined the hall of Celeste Bartos Forum.
Photo: Evan Agostini/Elevation Photos |
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 | T-Mobile Sidekick once again hosted the "Upstairs at the Library" viewing party for fashionistas who didn't score an invite.
Matthew Peyton/Elevation Photos |
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 | Tord Boontje designed the web of branches that ushered guests into the dining room.
Photo: Vincent Crossley |
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 | Guests like Victoria Beckham endured a long line of paparazzi on their way to and from the Bryant Park Grill.
Photo: Vincent Crossley |
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After the awards, guests made their way behind the library, briefly soaking in the park, which the event has ignored in previous years. The abundant flora prompted designer Raul Avila (who worked once again worked with producers KCD) to bring the outdoors inside the Bryant Park Grill with a garden theme. The grill's tent-covered patio hosted most of the 500 guests, and open windows and giant wicker fans above the tables circulated the cool, spring air through the space.
Most of the integral decor items used sponsor Swarovski’s crystals. In the park, a cascading fountain of crystals, designed by Vincent Van Duysen, stood near the library’s side entrance, and at the grill, an archway of designer Tord Boontje’s crystal branches glowed brightly, drawing guests into the dinner.
As in years past, a few fashion-followers not able to snag invites got the chance to see the ceremony by way of T-Mobile Sidekick's annual "Upstairs at the Library" viewing party, but the pomp of the CFDA awards extended even further this year with a simulcast for students at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Target sponsored a secondary viewing party at the school for a crop of designers-in-training.
—Michael O'Connell
RELATED TOPICS
Council of Fashion Designers of America, C.F.D.A., C.F.D.A. Awards, Swarovski, Target, T-Mobile
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