Daveed Baptiste named the winner of the 2025 Empowered Vision Award

Haitian American designer Daveed Baptiste has been awarded the 2025 Empowered Vision Award, presented by The Andréa W. and Kenneth C. Frazier Family Foundation and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). 

Baptiste was named the recipient of this year’s award during a cocktail reception at the W Hotel Union Square in New York City last week by artistic director and cultural advocate Edward Buchanan and supermodel Imaan Hammam.

The event welcomed several members of the fashion, media, and design industries, including designers Prabal Gurung, Kim Shui, and Bach Mai, who came together to celebrate the award’s mission to support and elevate Black designers.

“Daveed Baptiste ultimately distinguished themselves through clear, thoughtful storytelling and a disciplined, vulnerable approach to building and strengthening their tools to lead a business,” said Milton Dixon III, Program Director of the Empowered Vision Award, in a statement. “We’re proud to support a designer whose work speaks to the future of fashion, and we’re excited to move forward with them over the next year of mentorship and continued investment.”

Founded in 2024, the Empowered Vision Award includes a 100,000 US dollar financial grant together with a year-long mentorship program valued at an additional 100,000 US dollars. The award was created to provide up-and-coming Black designers with essential financial resources, expert mentorship, and targeted business support to expand their operations and establish themselves on the international stage.

“As we enter year two of the Empowered Vision Award, we reaffirm our commitment to championing designers at every stage of their creative journey,” said Steven Kolb, CEO and President of the CFDA, in a statement. “Our goal is to build an ecosystem where diverse talent not only has the opportunity to emerge, but the foundation to thrive. We are grateful for the Andréa W. and Kenneth C. Frazier Family Foundation’s leadership, whose vision and generosity help make this vital work possible.”

Baptiste was selected from the group of finalists for his exceptional creativity, vision, and dedication to building a sustainable brand with a bold, innovative perspective, according to a statement from the CFDA. His work embodies the award’s mission to champion both creative excellence and business development in fashion.

An interdisciplinary artist and designer working across fashion, textiles, and photography, Baptiste explores themes of race, gender, and class within the Haitian and Caribbean diaspora through projects such as ‘Haiti To Hood’ and ‘Ti Maché’. Baptiste holds a BFA from Parsons and has exhibited at NYU, Aperture Foundation, and recently held his first solo show at MoCADA.