Image Source: Twitter, IBC World News
Zendaya, the 25-year-old actress from "Dune," will receive the Fashion Icon award at the Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Awards 2021. Zendaya has matured into a fashion icon in recent years, and her fashion game has gotten the recognition it deserves.
In the aftermath of her global effect on design, the Council of Fashion Designers of America announced on Tuesday that the actress would be honored with such a distinguished distinction. She joins Naomi Campbell, Beyoncé Knowles, Lady Gaga, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, and Jennifer Lopez on the list of fashion icons. She is the CFDA's youngest recipient of its highest accolade. The actress and artist will accept the trophy at the first CFDA Awards presentation in person since 2019—and she'll be surrounded by friends. Her hairdresser, Law Roach, with whom she’s worked since she was a teenager, will join her.
"Zendaya's ascent to Fashion Icon superstar happened at supersonic speed," the CFDA wrote on Instagram. "She's demonstrated time and time again that she's not afraid to take chances, from relying on newer talents like Peter Do to collaborating with iconic companies like Valentino and Rick Owens, as she did at [Monday] night's London premiere of Dune. Zendaya has offered fans and fashion lovers around the world a seemingly endless number of gorgeous red carpet ensembles to remember with the help of her creative partner [@Law Roach]," added the post
Law Roach spoke to PEOPLE where he said about Zendaya and their relationship when it comes to fashion, “We have such a relationship that there’s no fear when it comes to fashion. There’s nothing she won’t try. She’s fearless. She has this really beautiful talent of going on the carpet and evoking whatever story we created in the background. All my looks have to tell a story. We create that narrative. There has to be something more than just a pretty dress. Zendaya’s always been my partner in going out to the event and telling a story without even opening her mouth. She puts everything into it.”
The CFDA also announced that Anya Taylor-Joy, star of the Netflix blockbuster series "The Queen's Gambit," will be awarded the prize for Face of the Year, a new award for 2021. The Model Alliance will also receive the CFDA's Positive Social Influence Award. Sara Ziff founded the organization in 2012, and it spent 2021 lobbying in the New York State Senate to pass the Adult Survivors Act and the Garment Worker Protection Act, as well as working with and advocating for Carré Otis, who filed a sexual assault case against former modeling agency boss Gérald Marie and her former agent Trudi Tapscott.
Taylor-Joy is the first woman to win the prize, and she rose to prominence thanks to her Netflix series. Elle, InStyle, L'Officiel, Tatler, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and W magazine are just a few of the national and international publications that have featured her on their covers.
Zendaya won the Primetime Emmy Award for Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the age of 19 for her outstanding performance in HBO's "Euphoria." She recently starred in the sci-fi adventure picture "Dune," and will return to filmmaker Jon Watts later this year for a prominent role in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which is set to hit theaters in December. She got the CNMI Green Carpet Fashion Awards' Visionary Award in October 2020 for "her efforts in fostering diversity and inclusion in fashion."
The 2021 CFDA Awards will take place in person on November 10th at The Pool Room. It marks a major recognition for the organization within fashion, as Ziff wrote in an email: "For the last decade, we’ve challenged the industry’s unregulated system of financial exploitation and sexual abuse of its mostly young, female workforce. If I’m honest, our efforts have faced a lot of resistance, even from those in fashion who present them as progressive. It’s easy for companies to hide behind empty promises to do better rather than commit to legally binding protections. Hopefully, with this recognition from the CFDA, we’re moving towards a reckoning that models are not just pretty faces—we are workers deserving of rights and protections, and we want to use our visibility to inject a labor consciousness into the industry at large. "
The Founder's Award (Aurora James), the Environmental Sustainability Award (Patagonia), the Media Award (Nina Garcia), the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award (Dapper Dan), and the Board of Directors' Tribute will also be presented that evening (Yeohlee Teng). Dapper Dan will also get the Geoffrey Beene lifetime achievement award from the CFDA, making him the first designer without a fashion show to receive the accolade.
