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Haitian Fashion Designer Daveed Baptiste Wins CFDA’s Empowered Vision Award
- Annie
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Haitian interdisciplinary artist and designer Daveed Baptiste has been named the 2026 recipient of the Empowered Vision Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).
This prestigious honor recognizes outstanding innovation and leadership among emerging Black designers. The announcement was made yesterday, December 11, by supermodel Imaan Hammam and designer Edward Buchanan during a celebration at W New York - Union Square.
Baptiste will be honored with a $100,000 financial grant and a prestigious year-long CFDA mentorship program, also valued at $100,000, both awarded in recognition of excellence and potential. The award highlights the organization’s ongoing dedication to elevating emerging Black designers. Baptiste was selected from a distinguished group of finalists that included Keith Herron (Advisry), Nana Kwame Adusei (Kwame Adusei), and Edvin Thompson (Theophilio), underscoring the depth of emerging Black talent in fashion today.
With a big smile while accepting his award, Baptiste told the crowd…
I started my brand three years ago with love, hope, and the pursuit of creating epic, beautiful designs. I never thought I would be welcomed by the fashion industry. This feels like a big hug, a big embrace from the fashion crowd.
Who Is Daveed Baptiste?
Baptiste - whose work bridges fashion, textiles, and photography and draws on his migration from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to Miami - explores race, gender, and class within Haitian and Caribbean diasporic communities through projects such as Haiti To Hood, Soaring High, Come Sunday and Ti Mâché.
His journey includes but not limited to:
A BFA from Parsons School of Design.
A year-long apprenticeship at Converse, where he co-designed the Black Joy Collection and created new color/material designs for their Energy basketball team.
Features in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and American Vogue.
Exhibitions at NYU, the Aperture Foundation, and a recent solo exhibition at MoCADA (Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts).
The People’s Runway with Brooklyn Bourough President Antonio Reynoso x Kid Super
Daveed Baptiste’s collection — captured at the REVOLT Art Fair by Blakawout Studios (first two images) and featured on his daveedbaptiste.art (remaining images).
What Is the Empowered Vision Award?
The Empowered Vision Award is part of CFDA’s Empowered program-created specifically to support emerging Black designers with real investment and long-term infrastructure. The program offers:
Financial grants
Year-long mentorship
Industry volunteer support
Tools for building sustainable fashion businesses
Now in its second year, Empowered is designed to not only honor creative excellence but strengthen the systems Black designers need to scale.
What Is the CFDA?
The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) is one of the most influential fashion organizations in the U.S., representing 450+ designers and running major initiatives supporting education, diversity, sustainability, and industry innovation.
We’re always happy to see Black people win, but it feels even better when a Haitian person does too. Congratulations to Daveed - here’s to many more!
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