The lights have dimmed and the champagne has stopped flowing, but the winners of the second annual Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards (CAFA) Gala may very well still be celebrating their much deserved wins. Hosted by Yahoo! Style Editor-in-Chief Joe Zee, the gala took place on Saturday at Toronto’s historic Fairmont Royal York.
Canada’s glitterati were on hand, including supermodels Coco Rocha, Heather Marks and Yasmin Warsame, actresses Elisha Cuthbert and Sarah Gadon, along with celebrity stylist and E! Fashion Police host Brad Goreski, all of whom sizzled on the red carpet wearing a smattering of Canada’s top designers.
The evening’s winners included Erdem, who accepted his Hudson’s Bay International Canadian Designer of the Year Award via video from London, Tommy Ton, who took home the Fashion Blogger of the Year Award and Zee, who was presented with the Vanguard Award by Jeanne Beker. Olivia Palermo also made a surprise video appearance to congratulate Zee.
Sarah Gadon in Erdem; Image: CAFA
“We are thrilled to recognize so many outstanding Canadian designers,” said Brittney Kuczynski, founding director of CAFA, in a statement. “Beyond this evening’s glitz and glamour, CAFA has the opportunity to build a strong, visible platform for our world-class talent.”
The Swarovski Emerging Talent Award, Fashion and the Swarovski Emerging Talent Award, Accessories went to Sid Neigum and Beaufille sister duo Chloé and Parris Gordon, respectively. In addition to receiving this honour, the designers were each awarded $10,000, a lookbook produced by The Collections and a mentorship from a specially selected group of CAFA luminaries, including Suzanne Timmins, senior vice president and fashion director of Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor, Byron and Dexter Peart, co-founders of WANT Les Essentiels de la Vie and Jan Kaplan, owner/president of Mendocino and M, among others.
Here’s the full list of 2015 CAFA winners:
- Womenswear Designer of the Year Award: Mikhael Kale
- Menswear Designer of the Year Award: Philippe Dubuc
- Swarovski Emerging Talent Award, Accessories: Beaufille
- Outstanding Achievement Award: Marie Saint Pierre
- Accessory Designer of the Year Award: Jerome C. Rousseau
- Sephora Image Maker Award: Tommy Ton
- Hudson’s Bay International Canadian Designer of the Year Award: Erdem
- Yorkdale Stylist of the Year Award: Zeina Esmail
- Model of the Year Award: Anaïs Pouliot
- Fashion Blogger of the Year Award: Tommy Ton
- Vanguard Award: Joe Zee
