The CFDA Gives My Son The International Designer of the Year Award in New York City
The Most Incredible Venue Set the Stage for the Silver Steel Statue
The Lower Level banquet hall of the Museum of Natural History is like being under the sea, in the ocean. Exhibits of sea life are suspended all around the upper mezzanine and a shimmer of blue light creates a surreal underwater environment. Above the cloth-covered tables and elegant chairs, suspended by hidden cables, floats a massive, life-size replica of a gentle giant. It dominates the room—an incredible blue whale, the largest animal on the planet.
That was the scene last night for the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) award ceremony. The evening was a tribute to the designers, creatives, and the movers and shakers of the Fashion World. We heard from people whose names are emblazoned on purses and over store windows at thousands of malls: Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs. Other fashion luminaries received their awards and gave speeches. It was an impressive display of talent and brilliance.
But the highlight of the 3-hour event for me was the introduction of my son Daniel Roseberry by his good friend Amy Griffin and his amazing speech before the crowd of creatives. Daniel was honored with the International Designer of the Year Award, and Amy’s kind words in the introduction matched the moment.
It was a spectacular event for our family. Our children, all of Daniel’s siblings, were huddled in a friend's apartment in NYC watching the livestream. Fran and I sat at the round table under the blue whale, with ten guests and friends of Daniel’s, near the front of the banquet room. And when Daniel’s name was mention, the audience rose to its feet and gave their warm applause.
Daniel took the stage and offered remarks to a very appreciative group. Of course, I am a biased, and you can judge for yourself from the clip below, but Daniel’s comments were wonderful, inspirational, and humble. He gave thanks for his friends around the table, his parents and family members, and for the House of Schiaparelli. And near the end of his speech, he spoke about the importance of having a mentor. Then, with all of his heart, he spoke about his mentor for the previous 10 year stint, Thom Browne. (Thom was there too. He is the head of the board of CFDA and later told Daniel (and me) that Daniel’s comments were way too generous.)
It was a tremendous night. Fran and I gave thanks to God for the immense genius-level gifts Daniel has been given, his humility and the world class opportunity to bring beauty and wonder into a time in history that seems to need it more than most.
Being ‘under the sea’ with this crowd for the entire evening was like being in another world. In a way, we were. Four hundred fashion executives, creatives, reporters, freelancers, artists, and designers inhabit this alternate world of depth and color effortlessly. They are the people who are most responsible for bringing beauty into the everyday world in the form of something so common and ordinary that we need it every day: clothes.
David Roseberry
I’ll post a few videos when I can find a wireless connection
The seahorse is a Schiaparelli original. Amazing. I’ll post a comment about it soon.
What amazes me is Daniel’s humbleness and appreciation for prayer. When I mentioned that I have prayed for every step of his way for last 10 years, he said “Thank You”. You and Fran raised a wonderful man, whose strength and talents a gift from God and he knows it too.