The Couture Council of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology  honored Manolo Blahnik with its 2015 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 at an award luncheon at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City. As has become tradition, this benefit luncheon heralds the arrival of Fall Fashion Week in New York.

Manolo Blahnik was selected to receive the 2015 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion as a result of his longstanding dedication to superior craftsmanship and innovative design.  For more than 40 years, he has been meticulously designing his shoe line, which has attracted a cult following including the likes of Nicole Kidman, Rihanna, and Victoria Beckham.

"It is one of the greatest accolades of my life to be awarded the 2015 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion," said Manolo Blahnik. "I very much admire the Couture Council's invaluable support of The Museum at FIT. It is imperative that we cultivate the culture of fashion and continue educating about design and artisanship. The museum does just that and in very clever and innovative ways. After all it is fashion that makes the world so much more colorful and interesting, so we must nurture and celebrate talent.  I am very much looking forward to being there and to share my excitement with everyone."

FIT president, Dr. Joyce F. Brown, said, "Manolo Blahnik is one of the world's most accomplished and influential footwear designers. Superbly crafted in the finest materials, his highly coveted shoes which have been called magical totems of success and femininity reflect his timeless and singular vision.  We are delighted to be honoring him."

"Manolo Blahnik is one of the world's greatest shoe designers -- and a true artist of fashion," said Dr. Valerie Steele, director of The Museum at FIT and chair of the Couture Council Advisory Board.  "I was absolutely delighted when the Advisory Committee of the Couture Council chose him to receive the Couture Council Artistry of Fashion Award. It was Manolo who kicked off contemporary fashion's obsession with shoes, as viewers of Sex in the City will recall. The awards luncheon on September 9th is sure to our most photogenic event yet."

This year's luncheon co-chairs were Carole Divet Harting and Darcy Rigas.

"We are thrilled to honor a designer who's taught us that a great outfit isn't complete without beautiful shoes," said Couture Council Chair Yaz Hernández. "Manolo Blahnik is an icon and we look forward to celebrating his accomplishments at this year's luncheon."

Each year the Artistry of Fashion award winner is chosen by the Couture Council Advisory Board, which includes fashion journalists, editors, retailers, and curators, including Glenda Bailey, Hamish Bowles, Ken Downing, Linda Fargo, Nicole Fischelis, Akiko Fukai, Pamela Golbin, and Suzy Menkes. Dr. Steele explained, "The committee's mandate is to look, not only at the previous year's accomplishments, but at a lifetime of contributions to fashion."

ABOUT THE COUTURE COUNCIL LUNCHEON:

The Couture Council luncheon will began with cocktails on the David H. Koch Theater terrace. Guests were then be ushered into the theater's promenade for a three-course luncheon, catered by Olivier Cheng. Bronson Van Wyck of Van Wyck & Van Wyck  designed the flowers for this year's luncheon.

Past recipients of the Couture Council Award include Carolina Herrera (2014), Michael Kors (2013), Oscar de la Renta (2012), Valentino (2011), Karl Lagerfeld (2010), Dries Van Noten (2009), Isabel Toledo (2008), Alber Elbaz (2007), and Ralph Rucci (2006). In 2008, Giorgio Armani received a special award for Global Fashion Leadership.

ABOUT THE COUTURE COUNCIL OF THE MUSEUM AT FIT:

The Couture Council of The Museum at FIT, created in 2004, is a membership group dedicated to supporting The Museum at FIT, a specialized museum of fashion. The Couture Council helps make it possible for the museum to mount world-class exhibitions of fashion, to acquire important objects for its permanent collection, and to organize public programs, such as the annual fashion symposium. The Couture Council accomplishes these goals through membership dues and by organizing fundraising events such as the annual Couture Council Awards Luncheon, which presents a chosen designer with the Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion.

Members of the Couture Council receive invitations to at least five special events a year, including behind-the-scenes tours of the museum's collection and exhibitions, opening receptions, and visits to the ateliers of fashion designers in New York. Couture Council members are also the first to receive notice of the annual Couture Council Artistry of Fashion Award luncheon.

In addition, Couture Council members receive complimentary admittance to all museum educational programs, as well as to the annual fashion symposium, acknowledgments in FIT's annual report, in the exhibition galleries and brochures, and on the FIT website and exclusive opportunities to meet other patrons of the fashion arts.

The Couture Council of The Museum at FIT's board of directors includes Joele Frank, Anne Goldrach, Rebecca Grastein, Audrey Gruss, Carole Divet Harting, Yaz Hernandez (chair), Celia Hegyi, Chiu-Ti Jansen, Eleanora Kennedy, Lisa Klein, Michele Gerber Klein, Kamie Lightburn (president), Stephanie Loeffler, Julie Macklowe, Barbara Malone, Elizabeth Musmanno, Amelia Ogunlesi, Liz Peek, Darcy Rigas, Lois Robbins, Peter G. Scotese, Jean Shafiroff, and Michelle Smith.

Couture Council annual membership is $1,000 per individual or couple, or $350 for Young Associates (under the age of 35). Membership is tax deductible to the extent provided by law. Please make checks payable to the FIT Foundation. Mail checks to The Museum at FIT, attention: Couture Council, 227 West 27th Street, Director's Office, Room E304, New York, NY 10001-5992.

For more about the Couture Council visit www.fitnyc.edu/couturecouncil

ABOUT THE MUSEUM AT FIT:

The Museum at FIT is the only museum in New York City dedicated solely to the art of fashion. Best known for its innovative and award-winning exhibitions, which have been described in The New York Times as 'ravishing,' the museum has a collection of more than 50,000 garments and accessories dating from the 18th century to the present. Like other fashion museums, such as the Muse de la Mode, the Mode Museum, and the Museo de la Moda, The Museum at FIT collects, conserves, documents, exhibits, and interprets fashion. The museum's mission is to advance knowledge of fashion through exhibitions, publications, and public programs.

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS AT THE MUSEUM AT FIT:

• Global Fashion Capitals, June 2 - November 14, 2015, will explore the rise of fashion cities over the past 150 years
• Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne, September 18, 2015 ? January 2, 2016, will explore the creative links between Bartsch?s 30 years of sartorial self-expression and its influence on the global fashion scene
• Fairy Tale Fashion, February 12 - April 16, 2016, will use some of the most extraordinary, beautiful, and luxurious examples of fashion to illustrate more than twelve fairy tales, including well-known tales such as ?Cinderella,? ?Sleeping Beauty,? and ?Little Red Riding Hood?
• Proust?s Duchess, September 2016 - January 3, 2017, an exhibition focusing on the wardrobe of Élizabeth, Comtesse de Greffulhe, whose beauty and elegance was one of the main inspirations for Marcel Proust's fictional character, the Duchesse de Guermantes from his novel À la recherché du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time).

ABOUT FIT:

Fashion Institute of Technology, a college of the State University of New York, has been a leader in career education in art, design, business, and technology for nearly 70 years. With a curriculum that provides a singular blend of hands-on, practical experience, classroom study, and a firm grounding in the liberal arts, FIT offers a wide range of outstanding programs that are affordable and relevant to today's rapidly changing industries. Internationally renowned, FIT draws on its New York City location to provide a vibrant, creative community in which to learn. The college offers 46 majors and grants AAS, BFA, BS, MA, MFA, and MPS degrees, preparing students for professional success and leadership in the global marketplace. Visit  www.fitnyc.edu