Wales Bonner wins 2021 CFDA international men's designer award

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Nov 11, 2021

British designer Grace Wales Bonner is the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s (CFDA) 2021 International Men's Designer of the Year. It was the rising star's first-ever nomination.

The award, which recognises her excellence and the outstanding contributions made to American men’s fashion, was collected in New York by American playwright, actor and philanthropist, Jeremy O Harris, in her absence.

In a recorded acceptance speech, the men's and womenswear designer said: “Wales Bonner is a young independent brand, so to be recognised in this way has great meaning for me.

“Since its inception, the mission of Wales Bonner has been to bring a Black cultural perspective to the highest levels of luxury fashion, to credibly compete with the established European houses in terms of quality, craft, concept and design; broadening the spectrum of representation and revealing the beauty in multiplicity.”

She added: “This marks a significant victory in bringing my ambitions to reality. I proudly share this award with the Wales Bonner team and our collaborators as well as the Black artists past and present who created a space for Wales Bonner to exist and continue to light the way forward.”
 
And so her rewards and recognitions begin to pile up. After launching her signature label in 2014, Wales Bonner became the Emerging Menswear Designer at the 2015 British Fashion Awards. A year later, following her first solo runway presentation, Ezekiel, she received the LVMH Young Designer Prize.

In 2019, she was invited by Maria Grazia Chiuri to collaborate with Dior to re-interpret its New Look silhouette for the Resort 2020 collection. Shortly afterwards, she was announced the winner of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund.