Fashion award : It's OK. I turned out fine.'"

Gaga gives heartfelt thanks at fashion award event

          This is Council of Fashion Designers of America awards, can be pretty intimidating: CNN anchor Anderson Cooper said so, actress Naomi Watts said so, and even Lady Gaga said so.

          On stage to accept her award as the year's top style icon, a soft-spoken, maybe even teary-eyed Gaga said she was nervous.

          "All of you made me feel like a star before I was," she told the audience at Lincoln Center that boasted bold-faced names such as Marc Jacobs, Anna Wintour, Diane von Furstenberg, Donna Karan and Michael Kors.

          She talked about how important fashion was in her life as a pathway to self-discovery, artistry and confidence. She planned her outfits for Friday night parties as if she was going to the Oscars, she said.

          "As much as this award means to me personally ... I just want you to know how much this means to young Americans," Gaga said.

          She said she thought the message was from a friend named Anna and replied with a bleep-worthy response. The text back from the Vogue editor-in-chief said, "How lovely."

          That led to laughter — and so did Cooper's montage of his early days as a preteen model.

          Cooper, a longtime friend of CFDA president von Furstenberg, said he decided to show his photos to prove his fashion cred since he was acting as master of ceremonies.

          "There was no way you'd be critical," he joked, "or that's what Diane said, anyway."

          Watts, dressed in a metallic T-shirt-style gown by Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein, presented the top womenswear honor to Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler.

          Top models Doutzen Kroes, Karlie Kloss, Miranda Kerr, Alessandra Ambrosio and Chanel Iman were indeed in the house, on the arms of their favorite designers.

          It was the nod from his fellow designers as well as retailers, stylists and editors that the rest of his family would find impressive, Gurung said. "I'm just a guy from Nepal. I will call my mother and say, `It's OK. I turned out fine.'"

He added, "I believe we all know and feel the greatest reward is the process itself."