Pratt Institute announced today that Calvin Klein Collection’s Francisco Costa will receive the Pratt Fashion Visionary Award at their benefit gala on May 7th. Previous honorees include Thom Browne, Fern Mallis, Hamish Bowles, and Ralph Rucci. Costa will be honored for over two decades working in fashion, much of that time spent at Calvin Klein, which he joined in 2002 before becoming the women’s creative director for Calvin Klein Collection in 2004. Last month he was a cover star for an issue of The Daily during NYFW. “I’m a frustrated architect. When you make clothes, sometimes we don’t understand that it is a very technical process,” Costa told us. “The pattern is just as important—I take great pride in working with skilled people.”
The May 7th benefit will include Pratt’s 116th runway show, titled Laboratory, which will spotlight designs by graduating seniors; the event will be held at Center548. A cocktail benefit will take place after the show at the Dream Downtown, with proceeds from both events benefiting Pratt scholarships fund and their Department of Fashion.