Exactly one month after setting social media feeds ablaze with his nearly bare Stuart Weitzman campaign, Mark Consuelos returned to the spotlight at the 2025 ACE Awards. Held last night at the Pierre Hotel in New York City, the annual event saw the actor take the stage to present the Brand Collaboration Award to the luxury footwear label he now famously endorses.
“After years of heavy, heavy investment in this brand, I figured it was time to make it official,” Consuelos quipped, nodding to his wife Kelly Ripa’s prolific online shoe shopping habits. “She encouraged me to say yes—and I thought, If it’s good enough for her, it’s good enough for me.”
Inside the grand ballroom, leading industry figures and celebrities mingled over champagne and conversation. The evening’s honorees spanned generations and genres, including the inimitable Betsey Johnson, who was awarded the inaugural Iconoclast Award. True to form, the veteran designer delivered both flair and fun: “Chappell Roan has kept my mind up this past year,” she said to roaring applause. In a totally on-brand moment, waiters presented her baguette-shaped bag charms to tables as if they were freshly baked loaves straight from the kitchen.
Later, legendary model and activist Bethann Hardison was inducted into the Hall of Fame. “I gotta use the bathroom,” she said with a laugh onstage, before leaving the audience with a heartfelt thought: “There’s a great alignment for me being brave and having fear. Sometimes the things I do are very fearful, but I’m brave enough to do it—and that’s very important. I’m really proud of me.”
As the evening wrapped, guests were treated to chocolate soufflés topped with a piece of white chocolate stamped with “ACE.” On their way out, each one received Sam Edelman gift bags filled with Betsey Johnson perfume, a weighted eye blanket, and la
As the program wound down, guests indulged in chocolate soufflés crowned with “ACE”-stamped white chocolate, a sweet prelude to their parting gifts: Sam Edelman bags filled with Betsey Johnson perfume, a weighted eye blanket, and lab-grown diamond studs—a perfect send-off for the accessory-obsessed.
Ashley Longshore and Jennifer Fisher
Jameela Jamil and Laverne Cox
Jaden Smith
Bethann Hardison and Fern Mallis
Laverne Cox and Betsey Johnson
Betsey Johnson
Erin Walsh
Rebecca Minkoff, Karen Giberson, and Camille Kostek
Reed Krakoff
Sharon Kanter and Mark Consuelos
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