The votes are in and the winner is…Nicolas Ghesquière. Balenciaga's main man was named Designer of the Year at last night's Accessories Council ACE Awards, and he was on hand to accept his prize from Chloë Sevigny. A loquacious Pharrell Williams, meanwhile, handed over the Innovator award to diamond dealer-turned-jeweler Lorraine Schwartz: "I've watched my friend blossom from an incredible caterpillar into a beautiful, beautiful butterfly," he said. "The ACE Awards got it right when they gave this to Lorraine." And presenting Stella McCartney with the inaugural Green Designer trophy alongside Helena Christensen, Chrissie Hynde scored the biggest laugh of the evening: "As someone who doesn't wear leather, Stella saved me from a life of shopping at Payless," she said. "Not that Payless isn't a great accessories store."

Of course, it was a competition of another sort that was on everybody's minds—the presidential race. Vogue's Sally Singer, winner of the Marylou Luther Award for Fashion Journalism, wore the "Obama" sweater Rodarte's Mulleavy sisters made for Sonia Rykiel's 40th anniversary show in Paris last month. Host Deborah Norville went non-partisan: "Tomorrow we'll make history," she stated, "by putting the first African-American president or the first female vice president in the White House. "We'll be glued to the television," promised Laudomia Pucci, who accepted the Hall of Fame award for her father, Emilio Pucci. Only model Coco Rocha seemed uninterested in the election. Her excuse? "I'm Canadian."

— Nicole Phelps