2024 CFDA Awards’ Best Looks Celebrate All-American Glamor

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The best looks at the 2024 CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) Awards aren’t just about the celebrities who wear them. On the October 28 red carpet at New York’s Museum of Natural History, fashion is a means to showcase the talent behind every stitch and seam.

The CFDA Awards annually highlight the best and brightest in American design, which means the carpet is usually full of the nominees’ work. This year we were guaranteed a big show with recognizable names like Tory Burch (nominated for the top womenswear award) and Coach (nominated for the accessories award), as well as new brands Wiederhoeft, Tanner Fletcher and Zankov. Nominees like Diotima’s Rachel Scott created custom pieces for their guests to make their carpet debut; other designers like Carolina Herrera and Michael Kors immediately lent pieces from the runway to the likes of Katie Holmes and Blake Lively.

While the recent Academy Museum Gala prioritized flexibility in rare vintage and the Met Gala challenged celebrities to go all out with tailored fashion, the CFDAs found themselves wearable, but no less visible, in between. This year’s best looks reflected a subtle vision of American glamor: one that could emerge in a velvet caped gown one minute, as was the case for presenter Cynthia Erivo, and morph into a feathered gown for Kylie Jenner the next. From tuxedos to cutout dresses and shimmering sheath dresses, it was clear that American fashion still couldn’t be defined by a single aesthetic, but could deftly walk the line between aspirational and accessible. Result? A best-dressed list filled with pieces that just about anyone can imagine themselves wearing—at least if they’re invited to the gala next year.

Paloma Elsesser in Diotima

There’s no better synergy on the red carpet than one of New York’s most beloved models wearing one of New York’s brightest rising talents. Paloma Elsesser showcased the signatures that earned Rachel Scott a Womenswear Designer of the Year nomination in a studded dress from Diotima’s Spring 2025 collection. The dress’s plunging neckline and hand-woven fringe skirt combined textures and themes that, in the hands of another designer, might would seem competitive (feminine and masculine, romantic and edgy). But in this dress with a wide chiffon train, everything is in perfect balance.

Cynthia Erivo (and Zac Posen) in Custom Zac Posen

Zac Posen re-emerged into the fashion world this year as creative director of Gap Inc., spearheading the fashion collaborations Cult Gaia and Dôen and occasionally creating unique gala looks for Anne Hathaway and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. At the CFDA Awards, he once again worked his magic on the red carpet in a dress designed for host Cynthia Erivo.

The actor hinted at his role in Wicked featuring a black hooded dress with a fitted bodice and dramatic tube skirt. Styled by Jason Bolden with a jade choker and colorful nail art, Erivo looked ready to rock the carpet. Of course, the real magic here is Posen’s mastery of tailoring and cut.

Erykah Badu

Each year, the CFDA Awards presents the Fashion Icon Award to a guest who has had a lasting impact on American style. Previous honorees have ranged from Zendaya to Rihanna to Serena Williams, and each appeared on the carpet in their respective awards year.

The 2024 ceremony honors singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. “I have always enjoyed taking pieces of what I am passionate about and creating something much greater than the sum of those parts,” she said in a statement about the honor. “From the music I create, to the way I dress, to the technology I develop; I’m always looking for more innovative, exciting ways to be more expressive and connect with people and be closer to nature.” The style she developed on this journey is defined by exaggerated proportions, eclectic fabrics and intricate headpieces with a mystical twist. She combined all of her signature features into her custom evening look by Thom Browne: an oversized black tuxedo dress over a suit, accessorized with a multicolored, sculpted face cover.

Kylie Jenner in Jean Paul Gaultier

Days after Kylie Jenner attended the Academy Museum Gala in a vintage Mugler dress, she revealed that she and her stylists Alexandra and Mackenzie Grandquist are still looking to the (recent) past to own the red carpets of the present. She certainly looked ready to fly in a feathered dress from Haider Ackermann’s 2023 collaboration with Jean-Paul Gaultier. Jenner, as fans know, usually steps up and repeats in some variation of a nude dress. Seeing her dressed in raven plumage with her short hair cut to match was completely refreshing.

Other editors might give some points to Jenner wearing a collaboration between two French designers to an American awards show. Counterpoint: Isn’t dressing to the beat of your own drum the most American approach to style?

Molly Gordon in Proenza Schouler

Sorry, but I have to say: Bear star Molly Gordon cooked in her look at the CFDA Awards. It all comes down to the cinched waist – a clever effect that looks like Gordon layered two pieces at once – and asymmetrical straps, one in the form of a belt buckle and the other in a cap sleeve. Pairing such a blue, almost purple dress with sandals of the same tone was enough to earn a “Yes, Chef!” from me.

Jenna Lyons in Thom Browne

Jenna Lyons is first and foremost a true fashionista. Real Housewife of New York second. She hit the CFDA Awards red carpet wearing a tuxedo by Thom Browne, one of the evening’s nominees for Womenswear Designer of the Year. With a bright red lip and metallic lace-up boots, Lyons looked every bit the part of a red carpet host—one who can guess the designer who’s dressing you before she even asks, “So what are you wearing?”

Hari Nef in Proenza Schouler

My minimalist heart lit up seeing Hari Nef in this black leather waterfall. The texture and movement of her original Proenza Schouler model elevated the idea of ​​a strapless LBD a few degrees. There was no need for over-the-top embellishments or exaggerated embellishments to stand out, just a slight swing of her very long bangs as Nef walked across the carpet.

Katie Holmes in Carolina Herrera

Everyone expects something elegant from Katie Holmes on the red carpet, but this Carolina Herrera dress exceeded all my expectations. From the tiny cutouts at the waist to the open back and bow, every element of this look is a step outside of Katie Holmes’s neutral denim comfort zone. I give credit to creative director Wes Gordon for taking her from business casual to this Upper East Side dress.

Addison Rae in Thom Browne

Addison Rae debuted a promo for her new single “Aquamarine” at the 2024 CFDA Awards, but through the lens of Thom Browne, it worked. She reimagined the mermaid dress as a gray corset and sequin skirt that transitions from gray and oyster plaid to baby blue with crystal embellishments. Then there was piece de resistance: A giant shell that Rae carried as a purse. Even pop girls now dress according to the method.

Blake Lively in Michael Kors

Blake Lively styled her It ends with us bouquet and grabbed a completely white suit dress and blazer, as well as a pair of crystal-covered flats. It’s a relatively minimalist look for Lively, but it still looks very “Blake” with tons of diamond jewelry and bouncy Old Hollywood curls. She hasn’t attended the 2024 CFDA Awards in a decade, and her return as boss was highly anticipated.