Kim Kardashian West’s mega-empire has officially earned the fashion world’s recognition. (No, her stint as co-owner of DASH didn’t count.) At the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s (CFDA) annual awards ceremony on Monday, June 4 —often called the Oscars of fashion—Kim Kardashian West accepted the organization’s first-ever Influencer Award.
The award is as straightforward as it sounds: the CFDA introduced the award to recognize Kardashian West’s enormous impact on the fashion industry, simply by posting online to her enthusiastic audience. (Thanks to her, we’ve all at least considered wearing biker shorts and a blazer.) To accept the history-making honor, Kardashian West made a brief, on-brand acceptance speech that showed just how ‘influential’ the star is.
PHOTO: Theo Wargo
Kim Kardashian West accepts her Fashion Influencer Award at the 2018 CFDA Awards
Kardashian West appeared onstage for all of a minute, but her words packed a punch. After thanking the CFDA for honoring her with an award, she started with a pointed joke: “I’m kind of shocked that I’m winning a fashion award when I’m naked most of the time,” she laughed.
Then, Kardashian West got serious. She remembered a former publicist who doubted her ability to land a cover on a fashion magazine—a dream that Kardashian-West always had. “[S]he said, ‘Let’s get some realistic goals, because that’ll never happen,'” Kardashian West recalled.
But, true to Kardashian form, Kim had a comeback. “Of course I sent her my Vogue cover when it came out, an autographed copy,” Kardashian West said. “So it’s really a trip to me that I’m now here getting an award for fashion, something that I’ve always loved.”
PHOTO: Theo Wargo
Kim Kardashian West accepts her Fashion Influencer Award at the 2018 CFDA Awards
With that anecdote handy, Kardashian West’s award symbolized just how much impact her following has had on the fashion market. Busy Philipps presented Kardashian West with her award, noting that many people view Kardashian’s social media empire and accompanying selfies as the “ultimate symbol of female empowerment.” “You are the influencer’s influencer,” Philipps said. “Your impact on how women dress and what they want to look like has had real cultural significance.”
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PHOTO: Dimitrios Kambouris
Kim Kardashian West wearing Rick Owens at the 2018 CFDA Awards
Kardashian West didn’t need a silver trophy to know the scope of her influence; she has 112 million Instagram followers to remind her. Still, she was thrilled to be recognized by the biggest organization in American fashion. (A sentiment she shared on her Instagram after her award was announced.) “I’m so humbled by this award,” she told model Candice Huffine on the red carpet before the event. When Huffine asked about who influences her, Kardashian West deferred to her famous personal fashion arbiter, husband Kanye West. “I’m super inspired by my husband, fashion-wise, because he really helps me to develop my look,” she said.
The first-time award was conceived by designer and CFDA board member Tommy Hilfiger, who said that Kardashian West’s influence is impossible to ignore in fashion—even if Kardashian West isn’t running a label herself. “Kim is the most important and powerful influencer in the world. Her reach extends far beyond her own brands,” Hilfiger said in a statement announcing that Kardashian would receive an award. “Every time she wears, posts or talks about a fashion brand, there is an immediate and significant increase in both awareness and sales.”
First she dominated TV, then beauty, and now fashion. At this rate, there’s an EGOT in Kim Kardashian West’s future. Read the mogul’s entire acceptance speech for her CFDA Influencer Award, below.
Thank you so much, Busy. We actually met on social media. We became friends on social media. So, I’m kind of shocked that I’m winning a fashion award when I’m naked most of the time. But this is seriously such an honor. Thank you to the CFDA for this award.
It was maybe seven years ago when I, I had a publicist and she asked me, what was my goals, what were my dreams. And I said, “I just want to be on the cover of a fashion magazine.” And she said, “Let’s get some realistic goals, because that’ll never happen.” And so, of course I sent her my Vogue cover when it came out, an autographed copy. So it’s really a trip to me that I’m now here getting an award for fashion, something that I’ve always loved. So thank you so much.
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