Uruguayan Gabriela Hearst wins the annual award for US fashion designers
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The Uruguayan Gabriela Hearst was chosen Monday as the winner of the annual award of the Council of Fashion Designers of the United States (CFDA) for women's clothing, announced the president of the Council, the designer Tom Ford.
The award is the highest accolade given for contributions to American fashion, and in its category Hearst, who founded his company just five years ago, triumphed over big names in fashion: his rivals were Brandon Maxwell, Tom Ford himself, The Row and Marc Jacobs.
"I share this award with my team, because vision without execution is a hallucination. I also want to share it with my friends and family, we all know how much they sacrifice for us," Hearst, 43, said in a statement.
"But especially with all the other designers and creators in these times, we are all in this together. Union is strength, and that is a kiss for my native country, Uruguay," concluded the designer, who grew up in a ranch in the north of Uruguay and has lived in New York for years.
Just three years after launching her brand in 2015, global luxury benchmark LVMH bought a minority stake in the emerging designer's company, a huge success for Hearst.
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Hearst's designs are anchored in the concept of sustainable luxury. At the latest New York Fashion Week, her collection featured garments made from natural fabrics, such as recycled cashmere and pieces of old Turkish rugs.
Many of her sweaters, cardigans, shawls and dresses were hand knitted by artisans from Manos del Uruguay, a cooperative of women knitters.
"The real luxury is knowing where things come from, and how they're made," Hearst said then.
"In terms of fashion, we must return to the past, to the way things were done before (...) Our mothers, our grandmothers, but also our ancestors a thousand, three thousand years ago," she reflected.
The last designer of Hispanic origin to win the CFDA award was the Brazilian Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein, in 2008.
© 2020 AFP
