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Let’s call it now. If 2018 was all about the rise and rise of Virgil Abloh – aka Louis Vuitton’s new head of menswear and the king of co-branded collaborations – then 2019 is sure to be the year of his supreme rule. (No LV x Supreme capsule pun intended – that honour goes to the former men’s creative director Kim Jones, now Dior, who engineered the cult capsule collection. Are you keeping up?)
The former architect turned Off-White founder and Kanye West co-creative took home the new Urban Luxe category at the British Fashion Awards 2018 in a room full of the industry’s biggest and brightest, including the Duchess of Sussex who (now famously) swathed her growing baby bump in custom Givenchy before presented Clare Waight Keller with an award – an image that’s trending across every social media platform on earth today.
American father-of-two Abloh was also a finalist in the coveted Designer of the Year category too. Victoria Beckham, who was nominated in the British Womenswear of the Year category (but, for the record, didn’t win) walked the red carpet arm in arm with husband David.
Australian model and GRAZIA fashion shoot star Adut Akech was a finalist alongside Bella Hadid, Adwoa Aboah and GRAZIA Australia cover star Winnie Harlow in the Model of the Year category taken home by teen sensation Kaia Gerber. (Talking about keeping fine company.)
The penultimate award of the night – Designer of the Year – saw a field of finalists who all headed big-name international designer brands: Valentino, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Gucci. But several other key categories included finalists and indeed winners who aren’t yet household names.
Here, GRAZIA shares cliff-notes on who the category winners are and the key things you need to know about each. Consider it your fashion chat trivia for the next 12 months, sorted.
Accessories Designer of the Year
FINALISTS
Alessandro Michele for Gucci
Jonathan Anderson for Loewe
Maria Grazia Chiuri for Dior
Miuccia Prada for Prada
WINNER: Demna Gvasalia for Balenciaga
You know those $1300, ultra-chunky Triple S platform sneakers by Balenciaga every style star worth her salt has been wearing for the past year? This man’s the wicked genius responsible. Having joined Balenciaga as creative director in 2015 following stints at Martin Margiela and Louis Vuitton, and the runaway success of his Avante Garde brand Vetements, Georgia-born Gvasalia has continued to create beautiful clothes that trade on shock value. (Classic example: that $1000 yellow DHL tee. Hideous but a hot ticket item.) True, any man who can tempt us to part with more than a grand for ugly sneakers
Brand of the Year
FINALISTS
Balenciaga
Burberry
Off-White
Prada
WINNER: Gucci
While joined by a field of highly deserving finalists, it’s no overstatement to say Gucci’s record-breaking reinvention under creative director Alessandro Michele has been nothing short of a blockbuster success story. So much so, in fact, that Michele has driven the entire industry’s fashion trends as a whole and competitors are flocking to imitate his aesthetic. The Italian brand’s sales have increased by a phenomenal 50 percent per year since his rise to the top creative role in 2015.
British Designer of the Year Menswear
FINALISTS
Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson
Kim Jones for Dior Homme
Martine Rose for Martine Rose
Riccardo Tisci for Burberry
WINNER: Craig Green for Craig Green
Thirty-two-year-old menswear designer Craig Green, a graduate of prestigious Central Saint Martins college’s Master’s degree, was named part of the Business of Fashion’s BoF500 earlier this year. According to the online fashion business platform, this “Londoner’s true genius lies his ability to parlay his cerebral inspirations into unique yet wearable clothing, often with a utilitarian edge”. He’s been known to present his men’s designs on female models at times, no doubt to drive home their gender-neutral aesthetic and broad appeal. Enthusiastic about colours and bold detail, his approach to menswear is both tailored and maximalist. See more at his eponymous brand’s website here.
British Designer of the Year Womenswear
FINALISTS
Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson
Roksanda Ilinčić for Roksanda
Simone Rocha for Simone Rocha
Victoria Beckham for Victoria Beckham
WINNER: Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy
Famously the first woman to take the top job at the house of Givenchy, Clare Waight Keller built up a firm fan base at her previous fashion home of Chloe. Her collections for Givenchy since replacing Riccardo Tisci have been well-received by critics and performed well commercially. Despite a glowing rise to prominence in the industry, having worked with Tom Ford at Gucci, and at Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, arguably her biggest accolade to date was being selected to design the Duchess of Sussex (nee Meghan Markle)’s wedding gown. Indeed, the Duchess herself made a surprise appearance to present Keller with this award… wearing one-shouldered black velvet Givenchy, no less. Talking about rubbing shoulders with royalty.
British Emerging Talent Menswear
FINALISTS
Ben Cottrell and Matthew Dainty for Cottweiler
Eden Loweth and Tom Barratt for Art School
Kiko Kostadinov for Kiko Kostadinov
Phoebe English for Phoebe English
WINNER: Samuel Ross for A-Cold-Wall* (winner)
British Emerging Talent Womenswear
FINALISTS
Matty Bovan for Matty Bovan
Natalia Alaverdian for A.W.A.K.E.
Rejina Pyo for Rejina Pyo
Sofia Prantera and Fergus Purcell for Aries
WINNER: Richard Quinn for Richard Quinn
Designer of the Year
FINALISTS
Alessandro Michele for Gucci
Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy
Kim Jones for Dior Homme
Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton
WINNER: Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino
Model of the Year
FINALISTS
Adut Akech
Adwoa Aboah
Bella Hadid
Winnie Harlow
WINNER: Kaia Gerber
Urban Luxe
FINALISTS
Alyx
Balenciaga
Marine Serre
Supreme
WINNER: Off-White
Business Leader
FINALISTS
Jonathan Akeroyd for Versace
José Neves for Farfetch
Marco Gobbetti for Burberry
Michael Burke for Louis Vuitton
WINNER: Marco Bizzarri for Gucci
2018 Trailblazer Award
WINNER: Kim Jones (Creative Director – Louis Vuitton Men’s)
Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator
WINNER: Mert & Marcus (Fashion Photographers)
Outstanding Achievement
WINNER: Miuccia Prada (Designer and Art Patron)
Special Recognition Award for Innovation
WINNER: Parley for the Oceans (an environmental organisation that supports creative industry to help prevent plastic entering our oceans)
Swarovski Award for Positive Change
WINNER: Vivienne Westwood (Designer and Campaigner)
