Diane Von Furstenberg and Steven Kolb Announce the 2012 Fashion Awards Nominees and Honorees. Photo Courtesy of Getty.

Last night, CFDA President Diane Von Furstenberg and CFDA CEO Steven Kolb, announced this year’s Fashion Award Nominees and Honorees. Though many of the nominations went to former nominees such as Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler, and Marc Jacobs, who have been dazzling fashion lovers for seasons – there were some exciting newcomers thrown in, too. The most surprising name of the evening: Johnny Depp, who will receive the Fashion Icon Award (and is the first man to ever receive the honor).

Seth Meyers will emcee the evening, and is sure to inject some humor into the event, which takes place on June 4th at Lincoln Center. We know of a few other exciting announcements that will be revealed at the awards ceremony, but we can’t tell you about them just yet. Stay tuned for updates!

Follow the jump for the full list of nominees! Read more…

Patrik Ervell, who was a School of Fashion honored guest and Award of Excellence recipient in 2010, has finally launched a women’s wear line! He won the Ecco Domani Award for best men’s wear designer in 2007 and was nominated by the CFDA for best men’s wear designer this past year for his spectacular designs. His clothes are truly amazing, so it’s not wonder the ladies took notice – often purchasing the men’s wear for themselves. Women’s wear was a natural progression for the designer, who told Fashionista, “I think my girl might sometimes dabble in menswear pieces, but the new collection also has a serious women’s component too.” Did he just describe our ideal collection? I think so!

Peep some of the looks after the jump! Read more…

At last year’s Graduation Fashion Show and Awards Ceremony, you were selected by menswear designer Patrik Ervell to intern with him in New York. Tell us about the internship. What did you do?

My internship at Patrik Ervell was a great experience. I focused on menswear construction and learned more about the production and details of pattern making. Patrik Ervell is a great example of a small, yet talented and respected brand — with a stronger focus towards quality and functionality rather than mass production.

You are now working at Balenciaga America in NYC. What do you do there?

Balenciaga was an unexpected turn in my career. I have always been a strong believer in following what comes my way, and doing PR at Balenciaga has shown to be one of the best decisions I have made. It is fast paced and intense days with editorial requests and non-stop networking which is very different than what I have done in the past. It has made me see the industry from a completely different angle, and I now realize what it takes to work for a larger fashion house.

How was Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center in February? Did you go to any shows?

Honestly, I spent long hours in the showroom since we had our model casting during that week. I did see a couple  (of shows). One of them was of course the Academy of Art University Show.

How do you like NYC?

Strangely enough, I never had an urge to live in NY. I randomly kept coming back because of work and it has been a great place to grow my job experience. After living here for a year, I have seen other sides that has made me appreciate the city more. It is
definitely a city I have to travel away from to be functioning in.

Do you miss San Francisco?

I miss California in general. It has a beauty and energy that I have never experienced anywhere else. San Francisco is a unique city and I see a lot of great things happening there now. It has an interesting combination of nature, technology and design, which is very different than other cities.

What are some of your favorite things to do in NYC?

Wake up early on a Sunday and take the train up North to Dia Beacon; walk around my neighborhood in Chinatown; and the Brooklyn flea market.

What are some things you want to do in 2011?

Work hard. Create. Continue learning

In addition to the many, many, many awards and internships that Suzy Menkes announced (pictured above) after a stellar graduation fashion show, some of our special guests gave offered internship opportunities to some of our students. Check out who got offered what by whom in the list (and a snazzy slideshow of the recipients) below:

Menswear designer, Patrik Ervell: Anette Nyseth (BFA Fashion Design) and Melody Bainter (BFA Fashion Design).

Ian Hannula and Joe Haller from Nice Collective: Jackie Nguyen (BFA Technical Design) and Ryan Kuan (MFA Merchandising).

Carol Lim and Humberto Leon from Opening Ceremony: Ronnie O. Nery (BFA Knitwear Design), Young Ae Koo (BFA Knitwear), and Alice Spies (BFA Fashion Design).

Elisa Palomino for Diane von Furstenberg: Amelia Statler (BFA Fashion Design), Stephanie Hoffmann (BFA Knitwear Design), Ghazaleh Khalifeh (BFA Fashion Design), Ivy Fu Man Tam (BFA Fashion Design), Eunice Cheng (BFA Fashion and Textile Design), and Yuzuan Cheng (BFA Fashion Design).

Walter Van Beirendonck: Mariah Groves (BFA Industrial Design).

All photos by Randy Brooke