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CDGA 20: Four Presidents Reflect Salvador Perez - President 2013–present As we celebrate our 20th anniversary of the CDG Awards, I look back on our humble beginnings as a small awards show honor- ing our colleagues and take pride in the prestige awards event we have become. Costume awards must have been in the zeitgeist, as I remember when both Gamila Smith and Deborah Landis brought up the idea of having an awards at a CDG meeting. There was a little hesitation at first, because we didn't want to come off as self- congratulatory, but the membership came onboard and a commit- tee was started to organize the awards show. I volunteered to serve on the very first awards committee under past presidents Jacqueline Saint Anne and Cliff Chally, and I saw the awards show grow even further under president Deborah Landis. We used to give out a Career Achievement Award for film and for television. But as Costume Designers routinely work in all mediums, we now honor our members with a Career Achievement Award without specification. Costume Designers Albert Wolsky and Bob Mackie were our first Career Achievement Award honorees. I still remember waiting in line after the show at the valet at the Beverly Hills Hotel with Bob Mackie and the look of happiness on his face, as he clutched his award, and realizing what a wonderful feeling it must be to be honored for your work by your peers. The CDG Awards has grown over the years. We have refined our categories to accommodate the nuances of Costume Design. We were the first awards to separate Contemporary Design from Period/Fantasy. Then, we further separated the categories to include Contemporary, Period, and Sci-Fi/Fantasy, as each category has its own challenges and shouldn't be compared to the others. Much like dramatic acting and comedic acting are separated. We added the category of Short Form Design, to acknowledge the brilliant work being done in commercials, music videos, and digital media. The CDG Awards is the one evening a year where we get dressed up and celebrate the art of Costume Design. As Costume Designers, we don't often have chances to commune with each other, unless we run into each other at a fabric store or the mall. So the CDG Awards was the one time I knew I would see my friends and we would get to catch up with each other. The comment we hear most about our awards is that it is the best and most glamorous awards show in town. We have come a long way in the last 20 years, and I look forward to where we will be in the next 20. Our goal is to have the awards show broadcast so the public gets to join in our celebration. It's such a beautiful event—the world should be able to join in the fun. Jacqueline Saint Anne - President 1996–1998 Our current president, Salvador Perez, says he has a very clear mind picture (typical designer) of me and of Cliff Chally on stage together at the Beverly Hills Hotel 20 years ago. I wore a royal purple cheongsam and Cliff was sartorially splendid in a beautiful tux. I was stepping down and Cliff was ascending to the Presidency of the Guild and we were so very proud of our designers. So many people worked to create the awards dinner, chief amongst them was Dr. Deborah Nadoolman Landis, without whose dedication and drive the awards would not have begun that year. The CDG logo today is the award designed by David LeVey and chosen after a lively competition of Costume Designers' beauti- ful designs. We were thrilled that May Routh connected us with Bvlgari, who crafted and produced the award. Bringing the spotlight of the industry, the nation, and the world to our designers' door has increased our profiles, individually and collectively. Where once many projects were produced without a designer, now only the most mundane and reality-based film and television shows are willing to produce without the guiding hand and design expertise of a Costume Designer. Costume Designers sparkled that night and continue to turn heads and create buzz throughout our industry and the world. Our Winter 2018 The Costume Designer 19 Ann Roth receiving her Career Achievement Award in 2003. Photo: Getty Images.