WWD Style Awards Celebrates Fashion Culturemakers

On Friday, January 9, Womens World Daily hosted its second annual Style Awards during Golden Globe Awards week.

For decades, film and music have formally celebrated creative excellence, while fashion, despite its central role in shaping culture, has largely operated behind the scenes. Wardrobe stylists, makeup artists, and hairstylists – curators of the zeitgeist, have shaped the visual language of pop culture and trickle-down trends with little recognition.

The WWD Style Awards reflect a broader shift: an acknowledgment of the creative forces behind the image, bringing long-overdue visibility to the architects of modern style.

These architects are nothing without the stars that allow for powerful collaboration. Throughout the night, the greatest takeaway was the importance of these creative partnerships.

George Clooney accepted the Red Carpet Visionary Award on behalf of Giorgio Armani. In his speech, he expressed, "If anyone should be up here, it should be Richard Gere, I think the two of them put each other on the map."

Armani's fluid tailoring and soft color palette broke from the boxy brown-and-black businesswear that had long dominated menswear. Seen on Gere, those designs allowed men to distinguish themselves from their fathers – a general shift in identity. Armani and Gere's creative collaboration reflects the kind of essential partnership that shapes culture - the star as a vessel for a visionary.

That dynamic was evident in Jason Bolden's work styling Tyriq Withers, as well as Brad Goreski's longtime collaboration with Demi Moore. These relationships reflect a symbiotic exchange—fueled by trust, understanding and a shared enthusiasm to depart form tradition.