Inside The Daily’s 9th Annual Fashion Media Awards

Karen Elson

Amber Valletta presented to Karen Elson.

Elson: “I’m extremely grateful to receive this award, I’ve been a model for a very long time and I still love what I do and love the creative community I’m blessed to be a part of. This award is dedicated to the sisterhood of all the models I know and love, who often don’t get the recognition they deserve as a valuable and integral part of our industry. People often mistake beauty as the singular trait that makes a model successful but to be a great model you must possesses something far more than beauty alone, a great models is a bit of an outsider, she’s a collaborator, an artist, a silent film actress, we know how to make bad clothes look good, and how to conjure emotion into an image. For me that part of my job never gets old. I still get chills and love that creative spark. The hardest part of this business for me, has simply been the business. At 43 it’s taken years for me to have the confidence to stand up for myself. Often that comes with being labeled difficult but it’s anything but, expecting to be treated with decency shouldn’t be an outlandish request it should the norm. So all I ask of you tonight is to collectively think about our intentions are we in the business of breaking people or building of them up. I chose the latter. There are many people in this room who over the years have built me up. That’s why I’m still here working today, so thank you to all you, past and present. Thank you everyone to my team, my friends and loved ones who are here supporting me. It’s an honor to be recognized like this.”

Carine Roitfeld presented to Lara Stone

Carine Roitfeld and Lara Stone

Roitfeld: “When we first met, I immediately was obsessed with Lara. It was like love at first sight. She was different from all the girls at that time. There was something magnetic about her, not just a stunning face but her temper, her fearlessness, her smile. Somehow she has that intriguing and sensual something of Marilyn Monroe. In French, we have a famous saying , “When you love you do not count . I can’t even tell myself how many Vogue covers I gave to Lara. We did most of my favorite pictures together and built the best relationship a fashion editor can dream of with a model. She would always trust my vision and ideas and embody in the best possible way all my craziest fantasies. Loyalty is something to cherish in Fashion and I couldn’t be prouder to hand you this Fashion Icon award.”

Ethan Hawke presented to Michael Fisher

Michael Fisher and Ethan Hawke

Fisher: “Thank you Ethan. I’m very lucky to get to work with you and all the other incredibly, talented actors. Thank you The Daily for recognizing my work but it’s not just my work, I couldn’t do what I do without the support group I have. My assistants, Amber, you’re the OG, Annika and Brodie, bless you for always being so positive and working so hard. To all the skilled tailors I depend on and make me and my clients look better – Jenny, Thao and Dom from 7th Bone. My agent Alex from the Wall Group. Your scheduling abilities are next level. To my friends who I don’t see enough and who always remind me this is just what I do for work. To my mom who always makes me less stressed after we talk. And I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my partner. He encouraged me to start this career and is my daily support and inspiration. I love you Michael.”

Hari Nef presented to Mel Ottenberg 

Hari Nef and Mel Ottenberg

Nef: “Hi fashion, people It’s day two, and you’re all doing amazing sweetie. I stayed in and got a good night’s sleep last night, because the night before I did not do that. I was in Masbeth, Queens, at a rave–which also happened to be the best New York fashion week party I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been sneaking in to them since I was 16. And this party of, of course, was the Interview magazine party, hosted by none other than the Daily Front Row’s Editor of the Year: Mel Ottenberg. People make a party, and you can learn a lot about Mel by the people who show up for him, miles away from velvet ropes of Manhattan. The fashion girlies were there, the designers, fellow editors–but there were also…a lot of blue chip painters, meme account scions, underground comedians, internationally renowned techno DJs, Harvard-
educated sociologists, more trans people than I have ever seen inside a building with a PR girl outside of it. Mel Ottenberg is not just a fashion editor: he is the consummate man on the street: feet on the ground, everywhere all at once, going in through the front door. There is no high or low for Mel–no up or down–only, through–just to see what he finds on the way. Mel is interested and interesting–insatiable in his enthusiasms, which bloom but never wither. He will call me to extol the virtues of this pant, that bagel, her hair in that movie from 1982, “have you seen it? You MUST! Non-negotiable.” He’ll ask me if I’ve met so-and-so. “She’s major,” he’ll say. Sometimes, I have, but most of the time I haven’t, and in a year I will see this girl everywhere. I was that girl once. Mel put me in a fashion show long before pretty much any of you knew what to do with me. He styled me when I had nothing to wear and Rihanna was
his only other client. He had me in his home, where I would cry on his couch, wringing my hands over how I thought other people saw me, give me a break, I was in my early twenties. “I see you,” he would say to me, “and you’re fabulous.” The word “editor” implies subtraction–negation–but there is nothing negative about you, Mel. You’re positive–lightness and fun–and you love clothes, but you the love people in them more. I am honored to present the Daily Front Row’s Editor of the year to THE PEOPLE’S EDITOR, New York’s favorite, and my forever friend: Mel Ottenberg.”

Tosca Musk, Kimbal Musk, and Brooke Wall presented to Maye Musk

Maye Musk, Tosca Musk, Brooke Wall

 Wall: “Maye Musk does not need an introduction – this incredible woman who inspires me and so many others everyday has been modeling since she was a teen! And at 74 receiving the breakthrough award! Maye has single handedly raised 3 of the most incredible humans on the planet and has the best work ethic of anyone I’ve ever met. Her professionalism, drive, patience,intelligence, kindness, and loyalty shine from the minute you meet her! At the youthful age of 74 she knows how to party better than any rockstar! I’ll never forget walking into a dive bar in Paris and Maye immediately ordering a Sex on the Beach!”

Musk: “My other son Elon would have been here tonight if he wasn’t launching a rocket into space. I don’t think most mothers can say that.”

Andrea Pitter and Yannik Zamboni presented to Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn

Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum

 Gunn: “Fashion has evolved from being just about beautiful, enticing clothes to being about the larger rubric of branding – and all that that entails. On Making The Cut, you see what that entails and you have the further excitement of being able to purchase each episode’s winning look right then and there – and have it on your doorstep the very next day. As we say, “watch it/wear it.” If you can believe it, Heidi and I have worked together for 18 years, and among the many elements that bond us is our commitment to supporting up-and-coming designers, especially those who champion sustainability and gender neutral inclusivity, all of which you see on the show.”

LoveShackFancy founder and creative director Rebecca Hessel Cohen presented to Sam Edelman

Rebecca Hessel Cohen and Sam Edelman

Hessel Cohen: “When Sam asked me to present this award tonight, I wondered what it truly means to be an innovator. An innovator is someone who sees potential where others don’t—an innovator glimpses beyond actuality and assumes the risk necessary to make their vision a reality. An indelible force, Sam personifies the shoe business and is always looking ahead to the next generation. His originality, relentless passion, determination, and extraordinary ability to evolve with the decades, carve out niches, and foster young talent is unparalleled.”

Edelman: “Just as I had incredible support to empower me throughout my career, the most important impact I will have as an innovator is my ability to nurture the next generation of talent. Teaching, empowering, and imprinting on young visionaries will not only carry on my legacy as a designer but will lead to innovation in the industry beyond what I could have ever created on my own. To work with young talent is my number one pride. When I go to the office every day, I am so fortunate to have 70 employees that I call family – and hundreds more that have worked alongside Libby and I throughout our lives. Rebecca, one of my greatest mentees and a fellow innovator whom I respect hugely, is a living testament of this forcible impact on the fashion business. My team here with me tonight, is the embodiment of the excitement that’s to come from our next generation of leaders in our industry.”

Katie Couric presented to Olivia Culpo

Culpo: “I want to dedicate this award to all of the women who have gone before me, like Katie. Behind every chapter of success in my career is an army of other women who have helped forge a path making the impossible feel possible. A win for one of us is a win for all of us so I would like to accept this award in the honor of every single person out there and in this room continuing to break down those barriers as an inspiration for myself and for generations to come.”

Tan France presented to Gigi Hadid and Francesca Aiello

Gigi Hadid and Francesca Aiello

 Hadid: “I think collaboration is a part of my life that has brought so much joy. For everyone in this room, we’re creative, and we understand how special those moments can be.”

France: “This pair have been friends since high school, so it seems like they have a bit of an advantage when it comes to creating the perfect collab. Their collaboration is a tribute to their years of sharing bikinis, when playing on the beaches of their childhood city of Malibu. What a bloody long way they’ve both come since those days…my gosh. One, we know as the swimwear queen, who first showed her collection, at Miami Swim Week, at the tender age of just 19. After garnering the interest of a generation, who fell in love with her feminine, swimwear and lifestyle brand…. Frankies Bikinis.  A woman who built her brand from the ground up, and used creative social media marketing to become one of the most in-demand swim brands around, and this year, she hit the Forbes’ 30 under 30 list, which was so very well deserved.  Then, we have her collaborator. A woman who is known the world over as one of the most iconic models in history, gracing the cover of pretty much every major fashion publication, and walking every major runway for pretty much every major designer across the globe…..a woman who also just launched her own major line, the cashmere brand, Guest in Residence. She also happens to be one of my favorite people on the planet, my TV wife, and breakfast burrito buddy…with a terrible habit of hogging all the darn hot sauce!!!”

Photography by Caroline Fiss

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