The celebrated American designer, author, and fashion storyteller will receive the 2026 Fashion Icon Award in Southampton
This summer, Hamptons Fashion Week® presents Haute Summer Nights, an immersive celebration of fashion, culture, literature, and enduring American style. At the center of the August 22 program will be legendary CFDA designer Jeffrey Banks, who will receive the prestigious Hamptons Fashion Week® Fashion Icon Award.
Taking place at the Southampton Inn Ballroom, the evening will recognize Banks’ extraordinary career and lasting influence on American fashion. More than an awards presentation, the program will offer guests an intimate opportunity to hear directly from a designer whose life has unfolded alongside some of the industry’s most transformative moments.
Banks will headline Storyteller: Tales from a Fashion Insider, a live conversation exploring his remarkable journey through more than five decades of fashion. The program will include an industry Q&A, audience questions, a book signing, a VIP meet-and-greet, and the presentation of the 2026 Fashion Icon Award.
The conversation will be moderated by veteran fashion authority Constance C. R. White, senior executive director of the Social Justice Center at the Fashion Institute of Technology. An accomplished journalist, editor, author, and cultural commentator, White brings a distinctive understanding of fashion’s relationship with identity, history, representation, and social change.
A Life In American Fashion
Jeffrey Banks represents a rare kind of fashion authority — one shaped by artistry, business intelligence, cultural awareness, and an extraordinary memory for the people and moments that defined an era.
His professional style combines genuine talent for design and merchandising with an acute understanding of what contemporary men really want to wear.
“For clothes to appeal to modern men, they really have to work,” says Banks. “Men like the look of modern clothes, but they have to feel contemporary.” For Banks, the future of fashion is in the technological strides that allow designers to combine modern techno-fibers and fabrications with luxurious natural fibers. Banks strongly believes that menswear can always use an infusion of exuberant color, adding, “men enjoy its liberating spirit.”
A graduate of Parsons School of Design, Banks began his career as a young intern for Ralph Lauren before becoming an award-winning menswear designer and champion of classic American style. He launched his namesake label at just 21 years old, building a design language recognized for polished tailoring, expressive color, luxurious texture, and a sophisticated interpretation of American sportswear.
Throughout his career, Banks has designed menswear, womenswear, outerwear, accessories, home furnishings, and licensed collections. He has received two Coty American Fashion Critics’ Awards and a CFDA Award, while helping to expand the visibility of Black designers within the American fashion establishment. Banks has also received the Cutty Sark Award for Outstanding U.S. Designer of Menswear as well as the Pratt Institute Award for Excellence.
As the designer of Merona Sport, Banks built an $150 million sportswear line in less than five years. He launched the concept of “spectator sportswear” for men, women, and children. In addition to designing his signature menswear line, he has had a long-standing menswear license in Japan. Banks has also designed private label sportswear and clothing for Bloomingdale’s. He conceived and developed the Johnnie Walker Collection of men’s sportswear as the first brand extension for this prestigious distiller. He has also recently designed Jeffrey Banks Womenswear and Jeffrey Banks Home Décor for HSN.
His work has been photographed by such legendary image-makers as Richard Avedon and Bruce Weber, worn by prominent figures, and carried by leading retailers. Yet his influence extends beyond individual collections. Banks has consistently supported young designers, advocated for greater inclusion, and helped preserve the history of American fashion through his books, lectures, and personal recollections.
His continued relevance was reaffirmed when one of his designs was selected for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s landmark exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” His celebrated career and renewed creative chapter demonstrate that true style is never confined to a single season.
The Stories Behind The Style
Banks’ new memoir, “Storyteller: Tales from a Fashion Insider,” brings his personal history to the page. The richly illustrated volume follows his evolution from an ambitious fashion student to one of America’s most respected designers.
The book includes memories of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, both of whom became important mentors, along with stories involving Perry Ellis, Audrey Hepburn, Barbra Streisand, Bobby Short, and other cultural figures. Across 320 pages and more than 250 images, Banks considers fashion’s evolution from the 1970s through the present while reflecting on mentorship, friendship, creativity, diversity, and perseverance.
Banks has also co-authored books such as “Preppy: Cultivating Ivy Style,” “Perry Ellis: An American Original,” and “Patricia Underwood: The Way You Wear Your Hat,” among other titles.
What makes “Storyteller” especially compelling is the voice behind it. Banks approaches fashion history not as a distant observer, but as someone who helped create it. His recollections reveal the human relationships behind celebrated labels, influential collections, and iconic images.
During Hamptons Fashion Week, guests will experience those stories in Banks’ own words. The live conversation will offer a rare window into the discipline, generosity, humor, and resilience required to sustain a career of such extraordinary length.
Following the discussion, Banks will participate in a book signing, giving guests an opportunity to meet the designer and receive a signed copy of his memoir.
Celebrating A Fashion Icon
The Hamptons Fashion Week® Fashion Icon Award recognizes individuals whose work has influenced not only what people wear, but also how fashion is understood and experienced. Previous recipients have included Cesar Galindo, Constance White, Fern Mallis, Freddie Leiba, Regina Kravitz, Nolé Marin, Phillip Bloch, along with several distinguished CFDA designers.
Jeffrey Banks is a natural addition to that legacy. His career represents excellence in design, but it also tells a larger American story — one of talent meeting opportunity, obstacles being transformed into motivation, and personal vision becoming cultural influence.
Against the elegant summer setting of Southampton, Haute Summer Nights will celebrate a man who has spent more than 50 years demonstrating that fashion is never simply about clothing. It is about memory, ambition, identity, and the stories we carry forward.
Hamptons Fashion Week® takes place Saturday, August 22, at the Southampton Inn Ballroom, at 91 Hill Street in Southampton.
Content Powered by Hamptons Fashion Week