By Melissa Alvarado

After her Anne Klein debacle last year, Isabel Toledo seems to loom again with the winning of the Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion given by The Fashion Institute of Technology and a retrospective of her life's work (1985-2008) named Holy Toledo!

The Fashion of Isabel Toledo at FIT's Museum next year.  Vogue's editor-at-large André Leon Talley and Barney's creative director Simon Doonan will present Toledo with the award on September 3 during New York Fashion Week. Previous winners of the Couture Council Award include Alber Elbaz and Ralph Rucci.

In a celebration of the designer's achievement, Harper's Bazaar's editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey and FIT's Museum director Valerie Steele recently co-hosted a gathering Isabel and Ruben Toledo's penthouse apartment in New York City.

The couple charmed guests with hand-painted fans in an effort to freshen the AC-free environment of their apartment. The fans featured different portraits of Isabel painted by her artist husband Ruben.

Bailey said of the couple, "I can’t help but think if Isabel didn’t exist, Ruben would have created her.”

The fashion and art-filled marriage of the Toledo's is widely admired both for the creative power and for the longevity. Now, with Isabel's win, the couple has one more reason to be praised.

Photos courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.