Inside The Daily’s Fashion Los Angeles Awards

by Eddie Roche

Nicki! Kim! Fergie! Minnie! The West Coast became the fashion capital of the world for a night at The Daily’s third annual Fashion Los Angeles awards held at the Sunset Tower hotel on Sunday evening. The charming Nick Jonas (wearing Bally) was our emcee for the evening and welcomed our honorees Mert Alas, Nicki Minaj, Stephen Gan, Stella Maxwell, Samantha McMillen, Karla Welch, Jonathan Saunders, Gigi Hadid, Paris Jackson, Yolanda Hadid, and Presley Gerber for a night to remember.

This year’s epic guests and presenters included Lily Aldridge, Hailey Baldwin, Lee Daniels, Fergie, Dree Hemingway, Kim Kardashian, Trey Laird, Ashton Kutcher, Busy Philipps, Edward Razek, Jhene Aiko, Moran Atias, Bianca Balti, Nick Bateman, Bonner Bolton, Sharna Burgess, Cher Coulter, Cindy Crawford, Lily Donaldson, Jordan Duffy, Christine Evangelista, Sam Evans, Fajer Fahad, Nolan Funk, Rande Gerber, Kaia Gerber, Anwar Hadid, George Kotsiopoulos, Brandon Lee, Chriselle Lim, Bea Miller, Maye Musk, Matthew Noszka, Will Peltz, Lisa Rinna, Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Rebecca Romijn, Shaun Ross, Rachel Roy, Eric Rutherford, Jasmine Sanders, Pyper America Smith, and Lucky Blue Smith. But it was perhaps Minnie Mouse (yes, Minnie Mouse!!!) who nearly stole the show, making an appearance in a custom Alice + Olivia look and the indisputable “money shot” of the night (at least for moi!) In the words of our current favorite person in the world, Nicki Minaj: “Another day, another slay.”

Below, golden moments from this year’s speeches.

Ashton Kutcher presenting to Best Men’s Stylist Samantha McMillen:
“Often times we have days where we’re insecure and we’re afraid and we’re scared and beaten down. Sometimes there are days when we don’t even like who we are, and that’s who we know ourselves to be. But in our line of work we have to go in front of people and be the ‘you’ that you want others to see. I have a big partner in that effort, and that’s Sam. In this town, a lot of people talk about ‘It’—that person who has ‘It,’ the thing. I believe that ‘It’ is the convergence of when who I know myself to be meets who I want you to think I am. That’s simply called ‘vulnerability.’ When you find vulnerability and who you are and how you are, you have to present. What a true stylist does is they get to know you and understand who you are underneath the skin and armor and insecurities and the 5 pounds you don’t want anyone else to see. They help you present yourself to allow yourself to still be vulnerable of showing you who you want them to think you are, and Sam does that with absolute precision and TLC—a different kind of TLC, though. She does it with taste, pure taste. The things she pulls for me every single time are dead on the mark 100 percent of the time.”

Samantha McMillen: “I’ve been doing this for quite a while, but the times are very different than from when I started…It’s fun and terrifying at the same time to see the pace that everything has taken and the attention that’s put on every single human being and the amount of time we spend checking our phones to see what other people are doing and how many likes they have. It’s an inspiration for all of us. What I’m trying to do in my world is take the pressure off the people I help and that’s really all I want to do. That’s my place, and it makes me happy.”

Lee Daniels presenting to Fashion Visionary Stephen Gan: “I’m here to given Stephen Gan the award for his work in fashion. He is fashion. He is unafraid. And thank you, Stephen, for letting me give you this award. I realize you wanted me to give you this award because we both come from nothing and we have nothing to lose. When you have nothing to lose, you ain’t afraid.”

Stephen Gan: “Gigi [Hadid’s] first shoot was a bit rocky in the beginning when the stylist pulled me aside and asked me what I had seen in this girl. Determined to make this work, I sat in the late afternoon with Gigi in the makeup room watching the stylist try yet another hair style on her. We were a bit tense, and to relax, Gigi started playing Arianna Grande’s music on her iPhone. That was the first time I had ever heard Arianna’s music. I look back and think that trying out a new model led to discovering another new pop star’s music. Lesson number one: always keep your eyes and ears open to new things.”

Busy Phillips presenting to Best Women’s Stylist Karla Welch: “She really responds to what makes each of us unique and who we are creatively. She lets our respective personalities shine through in the clothes. It’s really a magic trick, Karla, and it’s incredible. And she’s never made me feel anything less than incredible, especially when I was hugely, hugely pregnant—no one gains more weight than me, and then losing weight with my second baby. To be honest with you, even when I’m not losing weight or putting on baby weight and I’ve eaten too many chips and salsa and margaritas, and I think we’re not supposed to talk about this, but Karla’s never made me feel any less than if I can’t fit into a sample size. She’s never made me feel anything other than my body is beautiful and incredible and capable of so much and that there are clothes for me to wear.”

Karla Welch: “To my number one, my husband Matthew. He’s here. I don’t thank you enough, and I know that. He packs my bags, he packs the car, he picks me up, he changes my flight so I get home early. I know I actually wouldn’t be in the spotlight today without him, so thank you.”

Lily Aldridge to Model of the Year Stella Maxwell: “I love you so much. I remember when Stella came on to the Victoria’s Secret set for the first time. She was so sweet and shy. I wanted to just take her under my wing and nurture her! Little do I do, she’s the sexiest, hottest girl I’ve ever seen in my life. But I’m here for you always. To see what you’ve accomplished in the past few years and watching you grow as a woman has been incredible. There’s so much more to come. You’re beautiful on the outside and inside, intelligent, smart, and everything that a model should be.”

Stella Maxwell: “Working in fashion is certainly a privilege. We travel the world and stay in beautiful places. We are truly blessed. With tha† being said, I think the most powerful aspect of working in fashion is having a voice, both to suggest and influence. With that voice we have the opportunity to create global change and reinforce positive action. Let’s work together to be a voice for the things we believe in.”

Ivan Bart presenting to Mother of the Year Yolanda Hadid: “Everybody in your family exudes life and happiness—and you’re solid. I know you come from a very solid background as well. Your mother raised you as a single woman who lost her husband, and I am sure she gave you the strength and fearlessness that you have, but it was you who told me that at 7 years old, you knew you needed to be the rock for your family. I think that’s why you will fight anyone or anybody or anything for the well-being of your children…and I know that firsthand.”

Yolanda Hadid: “Being a mother is the greatest accomplishment in my life and I can only thank my own mother in Holland for giving me the tools and the humble beginnings to prepare me for this incredible journey with my own children. Motherhood doesn’t come with a manual, so it’s important for us to lead by example and do the best we can when we nurture our children and teach them to be their own personal best.”

Dree Hemingway presenting to Designer of the year Jonathan Saunders of Diane von Furstenberg: “He brings the legacy of what Diane created and then ties in a little bit of that British cool sensibility that makes it refreshing and relevant, yet still staying true to the original, timeless aesthetic. No one is more deserving of this award. You, Jonathan, are not only the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on, but you truly are a bright light and a magic maker. You inspire me as a person, and I love you, and I know that fashion wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Jonathan Saunders: “To Diane. She’s a wonderful person and she’s entrusted me with a whole lot. She’s entrusted me with her baby…Here’s to the next however many years.”

Trey Laird presenting to Gigi Hadid, Design Debut for TOMMYXGIGI: “My brief from Tommy [Hilfiger] was crystal clear, yet quite daunting: Do something bold, out of the box and unexpected that will immediately connect with a new generation of young women all around the world in a powerful yet authentic way. Ya, Sure!  No prob Tommy! I do this sort of thing every day…easy! So with that rather large challenge before me, I started thinking about what Tommy’s brand really stood for in the first place: All-American, optimistic, classic yet with a modern twist, and always possessing a cheeky slightly rebellious fun spirit that never took itself too seriously. What girl embodies that spirit today and how could we do something new? So I remembered the girl in the purple paint. The girl that was different, the girl that was Gigi Hadid. But I had another question for her: What if we didn’t just do a campaign with her as a model. What if she became more? A collaborator, an inspiration, a partner, and a voice? It wasn’t going to be easy. It would require dedication, time, and effort, and there was always the risk that the whole thing could fall on its face. But luckily for me, and for Tommy, Gigi said yes!”

Lucky Blue Smith presenting to Paris Jackson, Emerging Talent: “You know what I love? I love celebrating other people’s success. Life’s too short to not want to do that. Paris Jackson: Welcome to the world of fashion. At just 18, in a short amount of time, Paris has established herself as a face to watch.”

Paris Jackson: “As I accept this award, I have to make a promise to everybody in this room, and everybody watching. From this day forward, every step that I take from here and every decision that I make is with love in my heart and with hope to get one more step ahead in fighting the good fight. I promise to use this platform as we all should—I will use my voice to speak for the voiceless and to fight for the rights that every one of us deserve. Every woman that walks this earth—every mother, every sister, every daughter, and every brother. Every member of my LGBTQ community, every immigrant, every child, every animal, and every plant. As I look at all these faces, I recognize so many people, and just this front row alone. Honestly, like, what do you think the number would be if just the front row added up all their Instagram followers? Do you realize the impact that everybody in this room has? We have to f***ing use it.”

Kim Kardashian presenting to Mert Alas, Creative of the Year: “He’s honestly the funniest person I’ve met in my entire life. Like, I’ve never met a more genuine person, someone who cares so much about what’s really going on in your life aside from all the beauty and the fashion, all the good stuff that surrounds his life.”

Mert Alas: “I receive this award for working on a very small project last year. In search of authenticity, I was looking at these kids from Berlin. They had an amazing perspective on life, they made music, they have an incredible sense of style, and they inspired me to shoot them in their own world. When I told two of my friends, Katie Grand and Marc Jacobs, about this project, they offered to publish a special edition of that magazine and so I thank first of all Marc and Katie for making this happen.”

Fergie presenting to Nicki Minaj, Fashion Rebel: “She has broke every single rule in fashion…This past Paris Fashion Week, I found myself addicted to media coverage to see what fearless look she put on next. She loves her curves, and we do too. But the thing is this: She’s not only a body, and she’s not just a performer. She is brains. This girl can write.”

Nicki Minaj: “I want to say congratulations to all the girls in this world who are strong, who are confident, and yes, we have insecure moments, and that’s OK. But guess what? You do something that millions of people would never be able to do if they had the opportunity because it takes guts, it takes balls! It takes balls to make mistakes in the public eye, and to read shty comments about yourself every fing day and still keep a beautiful fing smile on your f***ing face…I love you guys so much for believing in me. I took a little time off to rest and now it’s game time, b*ches.”

Major thank to our sponsors Maybelline New York, Moroccanoil, Revolve, and LIFEWTR, and designers Wolk Morais for dressing Wilhelmina model (and our lovely award assistant) Tess Jantschek.

Make sure to pick up a copy of The Daily Hollywood at top retail and hospitality locations throughout LA, or check out the digital edition HERE.

You may also like

2 comments

Avatar
Faith Harrington-Boutin April 3, 2017 - 7:41 PM

The best designer in Los Angeles is Sue Wong and she was not invited! How could you talk fashion when she’s noticeably absent!!! She is branching out to a global audience! People in Paris know her!There were other notable LA fashion designers as well that didn’t get noticed!

Reply
Avatar
WillieSmall February 3, 2018 - 11:09 PM

I have checked your blog and i have found some duplicate content, that’s why you don’t rank high
in google, but there is a tool that can help you to create 100% unique articles, search for; Boorfe’s tips unlimited content

Reply

Leave a Comment