It looked like Halloween in June at the New York Public Library for the Council of Fashion Designers of America's annual awards—but we're talking about the decor, not the fashions. KCD designed the event for CFDA special events director Tina Sibulkin-Yacker with dramatic, ominous details reminiscent of an elegant haunted mansion.
The centerpiece of the cocktail hour was a massive Swarovski peridot crystal curtain—designed by interior designer Gregory Bisonette—that hung in Astor Hall's center arch. Matching silk cushions sat atop benches on the stairway landings to provide lounge-style seating.
For dinner in the Gottesman Exhibition Hall (which has not been used for any other event in recent years), aqua linens covered long tables to complement teal silk taffeta seat cushions. Crystal and glass vases and containers in assorted shapes and textures added sparkle to a Swarovski crystal light sculpture and candelabra. JKLD lit the room in hues of blue and purple to evoke the colors of the New York skyline at sunset.
Guests moved to the Celeste Bartos Forum, decorated like a 1930's supper club, for dessert and the awards presentation. Each silver silk shantung banquette had violet linen ottoman seating and individual champagne and dessert service. The banquette lighting changed along with the stage lighting.
Hank Tomashevski Catering's menu included seared Kobe beef, smoked salmon and champagne-poached halibut over a melange of spring vegetables with truffle vinaigrette and parsnip puree. Moet White Star Brut champagne accompanied the dessert of white chocolate truffles, miniature meringues and chocolate-dipped citrus rinds.
Michael Kors-clad American Idol Fantasia Barrino performed a rendition of Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind"—six days after appearing at the Robin Hood Foundation benefit with a 60-member choir—before presenters like Anna Wintour, Isaac Mizrahi and Beyoncé doled out awards to Miuccia Prada, Donna Karan, Tom Ford and other hotshots of the fashion flock.
—Alesandra Dubin
Read our coverage of last year's awards...
Read our coverage of the 2002 awards...
