Lara Tabak, a senior majoring in Fashion Design, may not be a household name (yet) like the designers and celebrities she joined on Friday, September 9, at the Harper’s Bazaar ICONS celebration held at The Plaza. But she’s well on her way, having won the first Infor/FIT Fashion Design ICONS Award with the butterfly-inspired red carpet gown she designed for Kristen Ingersoll, Hearst Magazine International’s Fashion/Entertainment Editor.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West were honored, and Kanye West performed at the event. Numerous other fashion icons and celebrities were in attendance, including Carine Roitfeld, Glenda Bailey, Jason Wu, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Alexa Chung, Emily Ratajkowski, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, and Baz Luhrmann.
In addition to walking the red carpet at the event with Ingersoll, who wore the gown, Tabak won $10,000 in scholarship money. This was the inaugural year for the Infor/FIT Fashion Design ICONS Award, which was launched to the foster the next generation of leaders in fashion design.
Dozens of FIT students entered the competition, which was judged by couturier John Anthony, Infor’s chief creative officer Marc Scibelli, Racked NY’s deputy managing editor Laura Gurfein, and Ingersoll. Designs were judged on creativity, originality, modern red carpet aesthetic, and design technology. The other two finalists were Jinwoo Hong and Samantha Pae.
“The more I learn, the more I feel that there is to learn and I am in the right place for it,” Tabak said. “I am grateful to FIT and my professors who have taught me so much and have helped to prepare me for the incredible opportunity I have been given by Infor and Harper’s Bazaar. The collaboration with such a historical and impressive publication along with a creative and innovative technology company affords me a fabulous welcome into the modern fashion industry.”
Infor, a leading provider of cloud software for the fashion industry, is in its third year of partnership with the ICONS event.