Fashion gets set to honor its own

Last night the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) announced its nominees for this year's awards—the Oscars of the fashion world. Nominated designers will be judged on both their Spring and Fall 2008 lines, and the winners will be honored at a ceremony at the New York Public Library on June 2.

Vying for Womenswear Designer of the Year will be Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough for Proenza Schouler, and Marc Jacobs. Competing for the Menswear Designer of the Year title will be Michael Bastian, Thom Browne, and Tom Ford.

For a complete list of nominees, see FabSugar's post.

And may the best couturier win!

Let the countdown begin!

The tents are up.

The lights are in place.

And we'll bet the butterflies are already fluttering in the bellies of designers hoping to send the Next Big Thing down the runway.

In case you've been missing the buildup, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, our first big look at the hot styles for Fall 2008, begins tomorrow at Bryant Park in New York City.

Some shows we're particularly looking forward to:

• Erin Fetherston (Fri 7pm)
• Tracy Reese (Sun 3pm)
• Carolina Herrera (Mon 10am)
• Badgley Mischka (Tue 10am)
• Monique L'Huillier (Tue 11am)
• Anna Sui (Wed 3pm)
• Rebecca Taylor (Thur 1pm)
• Project Runway (Fri 9am)

(Check out the entire schedule at the MBFW website.)

We're especially curious about the Project Runway show, as the show still has six designers left. What could our esteemed producers have up their sleeve this year?

So get your notebooks ready, ladies ... and stay tuned for our reviews of the biggest shows from the brightest stars!