At last night's CFDA awards designers grabbed their muses of the moment and headed to Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in NYC for a lengthy ceremony hosted by comedienne Tracy Ullman.

Christening the new locale were sixty or so models aligned on the outdoor steps wearing the fall collections of the womenswear nominees: Marc Jacobs, Narciso Rodriguez and Rodarte.

Around the corner on 65th street, a sizable canopy served as the red carpet. "What is going on here?" asked one of the many gaping bystanders who had unearthed her camera phone and started snapping away. The answer was: a lot!

Pairings included Michael Kors with a pregnant Heidi Klum (in a spangled micro mini), Zoe Saldana and Calvin Klein's Francisco Costa, Mamie Gummer and Peter Som, and Diane Kruger arrived on the arm of Jason Wu.

"I'm nervous, happy, excited," said Wu - who was nominated for a Swarovski Award for Womenswear. "It's really just been such a crazy year."

Nearby Kirsten Dunst deflected reporters questions save for the obvious: "Of course I'm wearing Rodarte," she said upon walking in with the sisters Mulleavy. The bashful design duo from Pasadena, Calif. were more subdued in their choice of attire, "I'm in vintage," said Laura. "When you design it, you just want to wear something else."

Turns out, the CFDA judges like what they see: Rodarte took home top prize for Womenswear Designer of the Year (this caused Dunst to squeal with glee from her front-row perch inside the Starr Auditorium).

Other winners included Proenza Schouler's Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough for Accessory Designer of the Year, while Calvin Klein's Italo Zucchelli and Band of Outsiders' Scott Steinberg tied for Menswear Designer of the Year.

The triumvirate of Swarovski-sponsored awards (the crystal company actually underwrites the entire ceremony) went to Tim Hamilton for Menswear, Subversive's Justin Giunta for Accessory Design, and Alexander Wang for Womenswear.

Wang threw on his blazer as he made his way to the podium for fear of getting yelled at for not wearing a jacket and proceeded to thank his friends and staff for "inspiring me to get up at 10 am and work til whenever." Ah to be young!

The evening's honorees were an equally impressive roster: While Michelle Obama was a no-show to the event, she did send a videogram acceptance speech for her Board of Directors Special Tribute Award. The First Lady didn't callout any of her go-to designers personally but rather thanked them overall. "From Levi's to the crown jewels of Seventh Avenue, it's not just about fashion, it's about the American spirit," she said.

An emotional Marc Jacobs accepted the International Award on behalf of his work for Louis Vuitton - especially his collaborations with artists such as Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, and Stephen Sprouse. LVMH's Antoine Arnault was on hand to deliver the accolade and delight the crowd with a tale of how Jacobs texted Madonna to see if she wanted to be in the brand's latest campaign.

Jack White presented Anna Sui with her Geoffrey Beane Lifetime Achievement Award and GQ's Jim Moore succeeded in having the most celebrity cameos for his Eleanor Lambert Award. His video montage included homages by Jake Gyllenhaal, Sacha Baron Cohen and Tom Cruise, while presenter Justin Timberlake was no slouch either.

Following the passing of the silver statuettes, guests stuck around for a buffet-style dinner and of course, the open bar. Timberlake perused (and passed on) a table of assorted nibbles, Wang huddled in a banquette with Dree Hemingway, and Giunta - ever the crafty jewelry designer - found a new use for his award. "I'm going to make it into a medallion and wear it around my neck!"