CFDA and Swarovski end awards partnership

After a 17-year run, Swarovski will no longer be the sponsor for the CFDA Awards. Swarovski has been the main sponsor of the event.

“After an incredible 17-year partnership on the CFDA Fashion Awards, the CFDA and Swarovski have decided to shift the scope of the relationship and work on other programs to support American fashion. We appreciate Swarovski’s tremendous support of American fashion and look forward to our continued work to support the fashion industry,” said Steven Kolb, president and chief executive officer of the CFDA, to WWD.

Nadja Swarovski, member of the Swarovski executive board, said to WWD, “We are proud of our 17-year partnership with the CFDA Fashion Awards, including our support and recognition of 45 designers through the Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent and the Swarovski Award for Positive Change. Swarovski looks forward to continued support of the next generation of American talent through our diverse range of fashion support programs.”

The Emerging Talent Award had been named for Swarovski, in addition to the Swarovski Award for Positive Change that was created in 2017. The Emerging Talent Award brought financial support from Swarovski, in addition to access to the company's expansive crystal resources.

There has been no named sponsor for the award at this time, although CFDA president Steven Kolb says they intend to name new sponsors for the event.

With Swarovski gone, this will certainly change the image of the event as well, as they were even known for providing decor for the event. Unfortunately, all good things eventually come to an end, and it will be interesting to see what sponsor will usher CFDA into the next era.