7 Honorees, 1 Night at MoMA: Dua Lipa and A$AP Rocky Toast Blazy at the 2026 WSJ Innovator Awards

The 2026 WSJ Innovator Awards, now in their 16th year, filled the Museum of Modern Art on Thursday evening with pop stars, actors, writers and fashion designers. By most accounts, the biggest photo magnet in the room was a baseball team on stilts.

The Savannah Bananas, the exhibition baseball team known for its bright yellow uniforms, were this year’s sports honorees. They stood out in a crowd of suits and cocktail dresses, and WWD reported that one guest offered to snap a friend’s picture with the team while Hollywood names milled nearby.

Who Was Honored at the WSJ Innovator Awards

WSJ. Magazine recognized seven honorees across as many fields:

• Fashion: Matthieu Blazy, for his work at Chanel
• Music: Rosalía
• Comedy: Amy Poehler
• Literature: Marlon James
• Film: Martin McDonagh
• Technology: Demis Hassabis
• Sports: the Savannah Bananas

The format was familiar. A cocktail hour was followed by a seated dinner, where honorees were called to the stage one by one for introductions and acceptance speeches. Harper’s Bazaar noted that the evening came amid a run of black-tie events, including the Academy Museum Gala, the Golden Heart Awards and a new Airbnb.org gala held earlier in the week.

The Presenters and the Speeches

Several honorees were introduced by famous friends. Russell Wilson presented the Savannah Bananas, and before dinner he joked around with comedian Marcello Hernández while his wife, Ciara, posed for photos with Ashley Graham and Jordyn Woods. Lupita Nyong’o, in a black Brandon Maxwell gown, introduced James.

Blazy’s award was presented by Dua Lipa and A$AP Rocky, both Chanel ambassadors. Blazy took over as creative head of Chanel in December 2024, according to Harper’s Bazaar, and his arrival at the party reportedly turned plenty of fashion heads.

James, whose new novel The Disappearers is among the year’s most praised, gave the speech WWD singled out. He said the first time he read a book without pictures, at age 5, his “head exploded.” Words, he realized, could build a movie in the reader’s mind. “I write books so I can have more than one life,” he told the room, “and I write books that you can have more than one life as well.”

Poehler had been working the room barefoot before dinner and put her heels back on to go onstage, WWD reported. She began her remarks with a reflection on being present and aware of where your feet are.

Chanel Dominates the Red Carpet

If any label owned the evening’s wardrobe, it was Chanel. Harper’s Bazaar reported that Poehler, model Bhavitha Mandava, A$AP Rocky and Dua Lipa all wore Blazy’s designs. For an event honoring him, that was a fitting show of support.

Other looks drew attention too:

• Rosalía wore a black-and-white Schiaparelli set, an embellished, skin-baring top with a silky maxi skirt.
• Cara Delevingne wore Erdem.
• Jordyn Woods-Towns wore sculptural Christian Siriano.
• Emmy Rossum wore Hermès.
• Irina Shayk wore Issey Miyake.
• Ciara wore LaPointe.

The guest list also included Patti Smith, Seth Meyers, Gayle King, Jordan Roth, Adut Akech, Christian Louboutin, Christopher John Rogers, Jason Wu, Joseph Altuzarra, Reed Krakoff and Wes Gordon.

Why the Mix Works

The honoree list is part of the appeal. A novelist, a playwright-turned-filmmaker, a pop star, a comedian, an AI researcher, a Paris fashion house and a baseball team in yellow all share one room. The WSJ Innovator Awards reward a broad idea of innovation, and this year’s evening, from James’s account of reading to the sight of the Bananas on stilts among black-tie guests, showed how wide that idea can be.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.