Ralph Lauren Wins Menswear for a Third Time and Rachel Scott Takes Womenswear Again at the 2026 CFDA Awards

The CFDA handed out its 2026 Fashion Awards on Monday night at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the two biggest prizes went to designers who have won them before. Ralph Lauren took American Menswear Designer of the Year, presented by Matt Damon and Tremaine Emory, and Rachel Scott took American Womenswear Designer of the Year for Diotima, presented by Lupita Nyong'o and Francisco Costa. Keke Palmer hosted.

Ralph Lauren's own post calls it his third menswear win; the first two came in 1996 and 2007, and he won womenswear at the 2025 awards. The house adds that he is the only designer to have received all of the CFDA's top honors, Lifetime Achievement, Menswear, Womenswear and Retailer of the Year, alongside its Humanitarian Leadership and American Fashion Legend awards and the first Popular Vote. "Almost sixty years ago, I started with a tie, but it was never just about a tie," Lauren said in a statement the brand posted that night, sharing the award with "our talented menswear team." He beat Thom Browne, last year's menswear winner, as well as Todd Snyder, Willy Chavarria, and Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne of Public School New York.

The rest of the winners

Jeweller Ana Khouri won American Accessory Designer of the Year, announced by Naomi Osaka and Joseph Altuzarra, over The Row, Luar, Sophie Buhai and Coach. Colleen Allen won the Google Shopping American Emerging Designer of the Year award from Cole Escola and Gabriela Hearst.

Then the honors. Anthony Vaccarello, who is leaving Saint Laurent after a decade, received International Designer of the Year from Hailey Bieber, ROSÉ and Zoë Kravitz. Gap Inc. took the Innovation Award, announced by Demi Moore. Architect Peter Marino was named Fashion Icon, Tory Burch received the Positive Change Award from Anna Wintour, Eva Chen the Media Award, Linda Fargo the Founder's Award, Susan Cianciolo the Isabel Toledo Board of Directors' Tribute, and photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award.

CFDA

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Scott's win is the more telling of the two. She was the CFDA's emerging designer in 2023 and womenswear designer in 2024, so this is her second time at the top of the women's category in three years. Lauren's third menswear prize says the same thing from the other end: the CFDA keeps going back to names it already trusts. Neither result is a surprise.