The distinction went not to a legend of European couture, like Yves Saint Laurent

Michael Kors with models wearing his 2010 collection
FORTUNE -- When the fashion elite gathered this spring at the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards -- the Oscars of the rag trade -- the crowd at Lincoln Center sat transfixed as they watched Vogue editor Anna Wintour present the lifetime achievement award. Only this year, the distinction went not to a legend of European couture, like Yves Saint Laurent or Christian Dior, nor to an American icon like Ralph Lauren (though those design kings have all won in the past). It went instead to Michael Kors, at 50 the youngest recipient ever.