MICHAEL BASTIAN named CFDA menswear designer of the year

Michael Bastian was honored as Menswear Designer of the Year during last night’s CFDA Awards held at the Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in New York. 2011 is the 4th consecutive year that the Council of Fashion Designers of America has nominated Michael Bastian for the fashion industry’s equivalent of the Oscars. This year he was nominated along with Simon Spurr and Patrik Ervell for the accolade. Previous Menswear Designer of the Year winners include Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.

Michael Bastian was born in Lyons, New York, a small upstate town near Lake Ontario. After graduating from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, he moved to New York City, where his first job was as an Assistant Buyer at Abraham & Straus. This was followed by positions within Sotheby’s, Tiffany & Co., Polo Ralph Lauren, and most recently, Bergdorf Goodman, where he was the men’s fashion director for five years. It was this experience that led Bastian to launch his own menswear line, MICHAEL BASTIAN, in 2006. MICHAEL BASTIAN is carried in over 50 retail locations in America, Canada, Japan and the Middle East. In fall 2010, he entered into a long-term collaboration with GANT for his GANT by Michael Bastian line for men and women.