A Night of Superstars: Justin Timberlake, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes & More at the FGI Gala

“I always knew, when I was 17 years old and my hair looked like a ramen noodle, [with] strings attached to my hands, and I was in a boy group, [that] I would win some sort of fashion award some day.”

So proclaimed Justin Timberlake as he stood onstage last night. The pop superstar was at Cipriani Wall Street, clutching Lord & Taylor’s Fashion Oracle Award from Fashion Group International. And though he was being sarcastic (we hope), Mr. Jessica Biel kind of has a point.

After all, Timberlake is now a mega-hyphenate mogul who launched fashion line William Rast in 2005, and regularly rocks Tom Ford and Dior Homme. He’s also a fan of British designer and close collaborator Neil Barrett, whom he thanked at the podium. “The first piece I ever wore of Neil’s was in a video with Madonna, an up-and-coming artist you may hear about one day, for a song called ‘Four Minutes,’” he said, as Barrett handed him his award. “It was a leather jacket, and I remember thinking, ‘I need to know the man who made this leather jacket.’”

Since then, the two have worked closely together, with Barrett creating the looks for the singer’s 20/20 Experience World Tour. “Neil dressed me, along with some very large musicians in my band. No, like actually large people—not sample size!” Before the awards ceremony got underway, Barrett told us that JT, however, “is perfect sample size, you can’t even find that many models who such a perfect sample size.”

Other designers at last night’s major event: Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz (who took home the big FGI Superstar Award), rising London style star Jonathan Anderson, shoe mogul Bruno Frisoni, FLOTUS favorite Jason Wu, and ready-to-wear pioneer Eileen Fisher.

“The revolutionaries,” said the evening’s master of ceremonies Simon Doonan. “All the Che Guevaras and the Karl Marx’s of the fashion world, they’re here tonight. Who knew fashion was so full of militant, Molotov cocktail-throwing guerrillas?” he joked.

“I’m nervous!” Elbaz said. “I don’t get this kind of award on a daily basis. I just work a lot.” In between greeting Streep, who turned up in a crisp white Lanvin gown, he added, “I was surprised when they told me about the award and I asked, ‘Why me?’ And I still am.’”

Streep answered his question best: “I admit, I know very little about fashion, I don’t know how I got in that movie [Devil Wears Prada]. But Alber Elbaz is a poet. And an artist for whom you feel women were and are very important all through his life… So, on the important occasions when it becomes necessary for me to be ‘Meryl Streep,’ that outsized, over-crazed monument to the changing status of women in the cinema and the world, that’s when I fall at the feet of Alber Elbaz. My insecurities, my weight (which is 150), my height (I’m really short if I took these [shoes] off, and my age (which is indisputable)…he just makes me feel lovely.”

Elbaz, for his part, delivered a truly inspired speech. “I personally don’t like the word revolution,” he said. “I like evolution, I always did. Evolution lives longer and better in history books. Revolution looks great, but only on TV. Revolution is actually very photogenic.”

A few minutes later, he closed out the night, leaving the crowd with these parting word, “Tonight, fashion made me a superstar. But only for tonight, because Cinderella is going home before midnight.”

Mr. Frisoni, did you design the glass slipper?

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