Mapping

Outfitted by Rag & Bone, New York-based string quintet Sybarite5 performed medleys of Radiohead and Led Zeppelin tunes from Alice Tully Hall's outdoor pavilion during the arrivals portion of the night.

Although previous iterations of the C.F.D.A. Awards have featured colorful palettes, the hues this year skewed away from classic to vibrant in a nod toward being fresh and modern, and were reflected in everything from the chartreuse invitation to the purple arrivals carpet.

CNN's Anderson Cooper was the host for this year's ceremony, but left early to report on the scandal surrounding Congressman Anthony Weiner. Diane von Furstenberg stepped in to close the presentation.

Guests like model Miranda Kerr, clad in Michael Kors, posed for photographers next to glitter-box lanterns festooned with crystals from event underwriter Swarovski.

A Wi-Fi connection inside the Starr Theater allowed the audience of 700 guests to tweet during the 80-minute ceremony. A light supper on the premises followed.

In contrast to last year's curved, Richard Serra-style structure, set designer Scott Pask chose a more linear look for the stage. The design, which was 41 feet wide, 24 feet deep, and 22 feet tall, was inspired by the sharp angular work of Dutch architect and furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld and artist Kasimir Malevich.

The council's executive director, Steven Kolb, worked closely with the team at KCD to produce this year's awards. The backdrop replicating building shapes was the default scene used between the presentation of awards.

Kanye West, who presented Céline creative director Phoebe Philo with the International Award, joined a star-studded crowd of hosts that included Jessica Alba, Naomi Watts, Gerard Butler, and Sofia Coppola.

This year's awards saw the introduction of video mapping, a projection-centric component used to introduce each of the category nominees and confirmed award recipients.

The dynamic videos mapped to the linear stage structures supplied a graphic look and a noticeable uptick in movement during the ceremony.

To achieve a smooth transition as the awards progressed, each video was filmed separately and then combined during the event with others to create an overall picture.

Lady Gaga, who removed the gown portion of her Mugler-designed outfit to reveal studded black undergarments, received the Fashion Icon Award. As with years past, the lectern onstage was embellished with Swarovski crystals.

While the bulk of the award presentation used video mapping, the segment for Marc Jacobs's Lifetime Achievement Award was decidedly unique. Working with the fashion designer, Scott Pask engineered a three-piece, 22-foot-tall castered platform on a massive wagon wrapped in bleached white muslin. The center stage panel slid stage right to reveal 30 models clad in Jacobs's fall 2011 looks, all of whom then marched forward and onto the stage in a fashion-show-like procession.

Nadja Swarovski (pictured, center), whose crystal company marked 10 years of C.F.D.A. Awards sponsorship this year, was surprised by council president Diane von Furstenberg with a tribute from past Swarovski Award winners. She also received a one-of-a-kind Swarovski crystal-embellished Trova Award, handcrafted by Philip Crangi.

The 80-foot screen hung on a curved truss in front of the columns in the National Building Museum’s Great Hall.

The “Land, Sea, and Sky” theme of the National Geographic flag inspired an array custom tables and toppers, including glacier ice sculptures. Syzygy Events International created the custom pieces for the event.

Select Lucite tables served as aquariums with water and plant life inside.

Lucite tables were filled with natural objects like sea shells.

Living plants served as centerpieces on select tables.

Iconic, high-definition National Geographic images and video clips were displayed on projection screens during the 125th anniversary gala dinner and program.

For the program’s finale, the 80-foot screen projecting high-definition National Geographic videos and still images flew up in a four-second reverse Kabuki drop, revealing the Society’s Explorers-in-Residence, photographers, 2013 Emerging Explorers, the Washington Symphonic brass, and six gala awardees: explorer and filmmaker James Cameron, National Geographic Bee moderator Alex Trebek, oceanographer Sylvia Earle, scientist and author Edward O. Wilson, philanthropist Howard G. Buffett, and BASE jumper Felix Baumgartner.

The inspiration for the massive screens originated from the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Black-out lids were used for the gala, which had never been done before at the National Building Museum.

Illuminated Lucite boxes etched with maps of the world hung over the bar in the reception area. The lower rim was outlined in iconic National Geographic yellow.

National Geographic fellow and chef Barton Seaver worked with Occasions Caterers for the gala’s three-course menu.