Fashion Awards honor Valentino and Sam Smith

Sarah Burton, Jonathan Anderson, Valentino Garavani win big at prestigious event.

Over 3,000 guests, including Hollywood’s Anne Hathaway and Gwyneth Paltrow, attended the 2023 Fashion Awards at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The event, a key fundraiser for the British Fashion Council, highlights the industry’s significance, supporting nearly 900,000 jobs and contributing £21bn to the UK economy.

British designer Sarah Burton was an early winner, honored with a special recognition award. Stepping down from her 27-year role as creative director of Alexander McQueen, Burton, renowned for creating the Princess of Wales’s wedding dress, paid homage to the late Lee Alexander McQueen as “the greatest designer of our generation” during her acceptance speech.

Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson received the Designer of the Year award, recognizing his contributions to both his label, JW Anderson, and his role as creative director at the Spanish fashion house Loewe.

Valentino Garavani, founder of Valentino, was honored with an Outstanding Achievement award. Renowned for his exquisite haute couture gowns, Garavani was the preferred designer of Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the 1960s. His iconic crimson shade became synonymous with “Valentino red.”

Now retired at 91, Garavani sold the brand in 1998 for $300m (£237m) to Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli. The brand is currently under the control of the Qatari group Mayhoola, and in July, Kering acquired a 30% stake in Valentino for €1.7bn (£1.5bn).

The late British designer Joe Casely-Hayford received a posthumous special recognition award, honoring his sleek tailoring that merged tradition with contemporary streetwear influences. Renowned for outfits worn by The Clash, Bono, Drake, and Gordon Brown, Casely-Hayford emerged as one of the first black British designers to gain global recognition, though his full talent is arguably only now being fully appreciated since his passing in 2019.

Caroline Rush, CEO of the British Fashion Council, hailed Casely-Hayford as “one of the most talented and groundbreaking designers of our time,” attributing his work to elevating London’s status as a fashion and cultural center worldwide, paving the way for future generations. Accepting the award were Casely-Hayford’s children, Charlie and Alice, now at the helm of the Casely-Hayford brand.

Additionally, British fashion journalist Sarah Mower received a special recognition award for her advocacy of emerging designer talent. Mower significantly boosted the profiles of young British designers like Christopher Kane, Erdem, and Anderson. Her recent guest curation of “Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion” at the Design Museum in London delved into the narrative of how London rose as a major global fashion capital.