British Fashion Council announces names of 45 finalists for The Fashion Awards

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Oct 23, 2017

The British Fashion Council has announced the names of 45 finalists for The Fashion Awards 2017; with five finalists in each category. The list contained few major surprises – with quite a few creators in menswear, women’s wear and accessories nominated for a second time.

 
First launched in 1986, The Fashion Awards have become Europe’s most prestigious prize, even as London remains a less important fashion capital in terms of runway shows and influential brands and designers than either Milan or Paris. The Fashion Awards 2017 winners will be revealed at a gala ceremony in the iconic Royal Albert Hall, London. With some 4,000 industry members due to attend on Monday, December 4, the event raises money to nurture future generations of fashion talent.
 
The finalists’ names were revealed at a press briefing inside Soho House, hosted by BFC Chairman Dame Natalie Massenet, Caroline Rush, BFC Chief Executive, and Nadja Swarovski, the event’s main sponsor.
 
“These designers and brands were chosen from hundreds of international names and they represent the most creative talent and innovative businesses of the year,” said Massenet. While Swarovski stressed: “We are excited to welcome the fashion world to London for the Awards in December, which will once again raise funds for the next generation of talent via the BFC’s Education Foundation. Young designers are the heartbeat of our business, and it is up to all of us to foster and champion their vision.”

In the most closely watched categories, International Designer of the Year features the quintet of Alessandro Michele, Jonathan Anderson for Loewe, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Phoebe Philo and Raf Simons.  While the award for British Designer of the Year – Womenswear sees a face-off between Christopher Kane, Erdem Moralioglu of Erdem, Jonathan Anderson for his own brand JW Anderson, Roksanda Ilincic and Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen. In the Menswear Designer of the Year category, the competition features Christopher Bailey, Craig Green, Grace Wales Bonner, Martine Rose and Jonathan Anderson again. Bear in mind, Anderson won both these awards last year.
 
Quite possibly, the most closely fought battle will be for the Business Leader title, with Adrian Joffe of Dover Street Market, Guram Gvasalia for Vetements, José Neves for Farfetch, Marco Bizzarri for Gucci and Ruth and Tom Chapman for Matchesfashion.com – all of whom have achieved some spectacular things over the past year are in competition.
 
The Model of the Year award this year sees two sisters competing: Bella and Gigi Hadid, along with Cindy Crawford’s daughter Kaia Gerber, Canadian model and spokesperson Winnie Harlow, instant recognizable for her skin condition vitiligo, and local gal Adwoa Aboah.
 
Some 2000 members of the fashion industry voted their preferences for the different categories, which also included: British Emerging Talent – Menswear; British Emerging Talent – Womenswear; and Urban Luxe Brand, a new category featuring five non-UK labels - Fenty Puma by Rihanna, Gosha Rubchinskiy, Off-White, Supreme and Vetements. Additional awards will be celebrated on the night, traditionally including Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator; Creative Campaign and Outstanding Achievement Award, which last year went to Karl Lagerfeld.