Top design

NEW YORK (AP) — The fashion industry made it clear at its annual awards ceremony Monday night that it’s looking to future stars to see it past the doldrums of the recession, shunning longtime favorites and honoring a largely new guard: Rodarte, Proenza Schouler and Alexander Wang. The Council of Fashion Designers of America handed out its awards to the top talent in the industry.

Held at the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the star-studded ceremony included Heidi Klum and Blake Lively, both wearing Michael Kors, and Bradley Cooper in a Calvin Klein suit.

Laura and Kate Mulleavy, the California-based sisters behind Rodarte, seemed touched and surprised when Diane Kruger, in a red minidress with black beaded shoulders, announced that they had won the big prize of the night as the nation’s top womenswear designers.

It was only last year that they won the award for emerging talent. “I’m just so shocked,” Kate Mulleavy said. “It’s so hard to be up here when we think where we started, making clothes in our house three years ago. We never thought we’d be a part of this world.”

Rodarte beat out industry veterans Narciso Rodriguez and Marc Jacobs, while Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez topped Jacobs and Vera Wang in the accessories category.

Jacobs didn’t go home empty-handed, though. He was named the top international designer for Louis Vuitton.

Comedian and talk show host Jimmy Fallon read the names of both Italo Zucchelli for Calvin Klein and Scott Sternberg for Band of Outsiders in a tie in the menswear category.

Alexander Wang and his rocker look beat Jason Wu and Thakoon Panichgul, both favorites of Michelle Obama, for the Swarovski Award as the up-and-coming womenswear designer, while Justin Giunta for Subversive Jewelry won for accessories and Tim Hamilton won for menswear.

Industry icon Ralph Lauren won the first popular award after being chosen by 16,000 online voters as their favorite designer.