For the 50-year anniversary of The Fragrance Foundation Awards, this year’s star-studded awards ceremony at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater in New York City lived up to the golden occasion. With a record-breaking audience of 900 in-person attendees, the global fragrance industry came together to celebrate outstanding achievements across 14 categories and two honorific awards.
In the lobby, attendees were greeted by a custom fragrance created for the event by the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Perfumer Anne Flipo, which she named La Jardin de St Jose after the gardens where she lives in France. Once inside the theater, Jerry Vittoria, Executive Committee Chairman of TFF and President of Fine Fragrance Foundation Worldwide DSM-Firmenich, kicked off the evening along with TFF President Linda G. Levy, who underlined the Foundation’s commitment and mission to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within every facet of fragrance creation. In the last year, TFF partnered with New York Urban League on the Catalyst Initiative to benefit the League’s Diversity Lab and connected with college students country-wide to increase awareness of career opportunities within fragrance.
The night brought plenty of surprises, including presenter Cate Blanchette who delivered the Hall of Fame Award to Nicolas Hieronimus, Chief Executive Office of L’Oréal. TFF also recognized filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg as Creative Collaborator for the awards. Presenters included Misty Copeland, Diane Kruger, Keke Palmer, Vera Wang, Jason Wu, Wes Gordon, Sergio Hudson, Francisco Costa, Zaya, Malaika Jones, Tai Beauchamp, and Carlos Huber. The night ended in style with a seated dinner in the Promenade and DJ Alexandra Richards setting the mood.