Forgoing their usual cocktail announcement party, the Council of Fashion Designers of America took a more modern approach and used Instagram videos featuring the likes of Todd Snyder, Laura Kim and Candice Huffine, amongst others, to announce the nominees. In this clip featuring jewelry designer Irene Neuwirth, it was announced that Raf Simons, Virgil Abloh, Thom Browne, Tom Ford and—perhaps most surprisingly—Supreme’s James Jebbia were nominated for 2017 Menswear Designer of the year.

After years of the lines between high fashion and streetwear becoming more blurred than ever, the nomination of Virgil Abloh, and especially James Jebbia, show a real sea change in high-fashion’s perspective on streetwear’s place in the contemporary luxury space.

Virgil Abloh’s nomination for Off-White, while outside of the usual realm of designers nominated for the CFDA awards (oh, and before you begin with the, “But Public School makes ‘street-inspired’ menswear...” takes, consider that the brand was incubated within, nurtured and celebrated by the CFDA and its major members practically since its inception), makes sense given Virgil’s clear luxury aspirations (the seasonal runway shows in Paris and Louis Vuitton rumors certainly help this argument)—to say nothing of Off-White’s high-profile celebrity client list.

Supreme, however, is a totally different story. It would be naïve and ignorant to say that Supreme isn’t one of the biggest—if not, most relevant—brands in the world today, and the fact that the box logo’s home office is nestled right here in Manhattan has clearly not been lost on the American fashion organization. As any follower of Supreme will tell you, the irony that such a counter-cultural, anti-establishment brand being honored by one of the biggest “fashion” establishments in the United States is practically out of this world. This is to say nothing of Supreme’s luxury “fashion” aspirations which—aside from a much-hyped runway collaboration (with, fittingly enough, Louis Vuitton), a high-profile investment and aftermarket prices that rival traditional Fifth Avenue retail—seem to be practically nonexistent. Sitting next to brand like Tom Ford or Thom Browne—brands that are unabashedly upmarket—makes Supreme’s nomination all the more jarring (in a good way).

What will be interesting is—no matter who takes home the prize in the well-stocked menswear category this year—if either Abloh or Jebbia actually show up to the ceremony at all. Given Abloh’s European design studio and jet-set lifestyle, along with Jebbia’s well-known disintrest in talking to press or making public appearances, the bigger question is if either nominee would even show up to the Brooklyn Museum on the evening of June 4th.

Regardless, these developments prove that—when it comes to the American fashion world—streetwear may finally be receiving its due.

Shop all of the menswear nominees here.

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Tags: tom-ford, thom-brown, supreme, calvin-klein, raf-simons, off-white