Inside the Cooper Hewitt’s Star-Studded National Design Awards Gala
The starry evening honored this year’s National Design Award winners with a grand dinner beneath soaring Beaux-Arts frescoes, whimsical cakes by Laila Gohar, and appearances by luminaries including Martha Stewart, Thom Browne, and Maya Lin
On Tuesday, May 19, an esteemed crowd from New York’s design, cultural, and philanthropic worlds gathered at the National Museum of the American Indian to celebrate the winners of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s 2026 National Design Awards and a distinguished roster of gala honorees. More than 300 guests attended the museum’s marquee fundraising event, which drew an influential mix of architects, fashion luminaries, and executives beneath the landmark building’s soaring Beaux-Arts interiors.
Established in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards recognize achievement and influence across ten disciplines and rank among the nation’s most coveted honors in the creative sphere. The evening commenced with an awards ceremony celebrating this year’s recipients, including Robert Earl Paige for Design Visionary, Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forma for Climate Action, Mattaforma for Emerging Designer, Frida Escobedo Studio for Architecture, Thought Matter for Communication Design, Laura Kurgan for Digital Design, Josh Tafoya for Fashion Design, Charlap Hyman & Herrero for Interior Design, Ten Eyck Landscape Architects for Landscape Architecture, and Berea College Student Craft for Product Design.
Maria Nicanor, the museum’s director, joined Awards jury chair Aric Chen in presenting the honors alongside a prominent group of gala honorees that included Amy White of Adobe, Jenna Lyons, Tory Burch, Ben Watson of MillerKnoll, Joseph Specter of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, and Kiera Fernandez of Target.
“This year’s winners and honorees are extraordinary designers who are redefining their fields—whether through quiet and small gestures with incalculable power, to larger-than-life statements at the planetary scale,” Nicanor said in her opening remarks. “All of them are truth seekers, beauty makers, connectors who in their quest for excellence know not to sacrifice kindness, humanity, or the resources available to us. Tonight, we celebrate them for expanding what’s possible, with curiosity and urgency.”
Following the ceremony, guests gathered for cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres before ascending into the landmark building’s soaring three-story oval rotunda for dinner beneath Reginald Marsh’s sweeping frescoes. Candlelit tables filled the grand Beaux-Arts interior as attendees settled in for an evening of remarks by Nicanor; Jon Iwata, chair of Cooper Hewitt’s Board of Trustees; special guest Joe Gebbia, Airbnb co-founder and the first Chief Design Officer of the United States; Martha Stewart; Thom Browne; Maya Lin; Christofer Young of Tiffany & Co., and more.
One of the evening’s most memorable moments arrived with a whimsical dessert presentation conceived by Galerie Creative Mind artist Laila Gohar, who devised an elaborate procession of cakes inspired by iconic works from the Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection. Among the edible creations were a Sèvres-style porcelain tureen adorned with floral motifs, a Western Electric Sculptural donut telephone from the 1970s, and Michael Graves’s beloved Alessi kettle. Servers wheeled the sweets through the rotunda on silver trolleys as musicians circulated throughout the crowd, infusing the finale with theatrical exuberance and a sly sense of wit befitting a celebration devoted to creativity.
The gala also served as the backdrop for the announcement of Cooper Hewitt’s new Director’s Talks, a public program series that will offer audiences direct access to the ideas and working methods of leading creative figures across disciplines. The monthly conversations will pair Nicanor with the 2026 National Design Award winners for intimate discussions about their practices and the cultural impact of their work. The series debuts May 21 with Design Visionary Award recipient Robert Earl Paige.
The celebration arrives during a pivotal moment for the museum ahead of the June 26 opening of “Design Across Time: Exploring the Smithsonian’s Design Collection,” a major new exhibition that will span the institution’s first-floor galleries. Drawing from Cooper Hewitt’s vast holdings, the long-term installation will trace centuries of creative production while broadening public access to one of the world’s most expansive collections devoted to the decorative arts and innovation.
Scroll below to see more highlights from the evening.
