It’s that time again when the whole of London chucks on their finest togs and heads down to The Royal Albert Hall for a night celebrating all things fashun. Hosted by the inimitable Jodie Turner-Smith, this year’s Fashion Awards – in partnership with Diet Coke – had the glitz, the glam and of course the goss, to take us through to the holiday season. Want to know the ins-and-outs of the night? You best keep on reading, shouldn’t you?

THE LOOKS

Last night was only the second in-person Fashion Awards since 2019 – last year’s being a deluxe affair – so of course it was a night of formidable achievement, fun and the most fabulous of fashions. Highlights included Paloma Elsesser – up for model of the year – in a gothic black dress by Dilara Findikoglu and FKA Twigs in a sublime distressed dress by Rick Owens that was paired with a bulbous Moncler puffer. In Burberry were Stormzy and Burna Boy while Maximilian Davis’s Ferragamo crafted a slinky white dress coated in Swarovski crystals for Shygirl. Elsewhere, Tilda Swinton looked utterly ethereal in a celestial silk gown and painted longline coat by Charles Jeffrey Loverboy. Then came Alexa Chung, like a dainty ingénue in SS23 Prada and Sinéad Burke, too, donned Prada, this time a feather-trimmed black dress. Lila Moss also wore cult London-label KNWLS and Adut Akech sported a sexy mesh dress by newcomer Nensi Dojaka. Iris Law also rocked up in a surreal, vintage jumpsuit  by Comme Des Garçons that had three-dimensional hands creeping across her body.

The ever-iconic Kristen McMenamy sported a perfect Pink PP Valentino gown from its AW22 catwalk. Naomi was also in Valentino, but rather than dressing in the colour of the season, she was dripping in silver sequins; and Florence Pugh – who presented Pierpaolo Piccioli with the prestigious honour of Designer of the Year for 2022 – wore a classic crimson number with a daring open back.

Then there was Jodie Turner-Smith: the host, the heroine and arguably the best-dressed A-lister of the evening. Smith cleverly orchestrated several extravagant costume changes over the course of the evening. First, the Queen and Slim actor wore a whimsical green Gucci gown on the red carpet. Her second look was a custom 16Arlington dress with fluid glitter detailing, a tummy-revealing cut-out, crystals that fell like tears and a lavish marabou faux fur coat which she sported on stage, followed by a royal blue beauty by Richard Quinn and finally a frilly white number by Robert Wun that bloomed like a flower.

The designer who won the red carpet was ultimately Marco Capaldo for his label 16Arlington. Alongside Turner-Smith, he also dressed Bridgerton star Simone Ashley who looked like a neo-Medieval princess in her glittering hooded gown. For all our favourite looks of the evening, peruse through the gallery above.

THE PERFORMERS

Olivia Dean kicked things off with a red carpet performance as guests posed to get their photo taken. Once inside, Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show commenced the show in eccentric, provocative style.

Shygirl provided a mid-show performance of her track “Wildfire” in a custom 66 North puffer cape that flooded the stage, while Jessie Ware sang her disco-tinted single “Free Yourself”, all whilst dressed in Halpern.

A highlight of the evening was the British Fashion Industry’s salute to Queen Elizabeth II. Orchestrated by our Editrix-in-Chief, Sophia Neophitou, stylist Oliver Volquardsen, art director Robin Derrick and casting director Adam Hindle, a fashion show of the best of British design talent was envisioned in tribute to the late Monarch. Introduced by legendary supermodel Naomi Campbell, the likes of Leomie Anderson, Adut Akech and Lila Moss all marched to a score composed by Jeremy Healy and The Queen’s Royal Hussars.

The full list of brands involved included: Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Christopher Kane, David Koma, Dilara Findikoglu, Dunhill, Edward Crutchley, Erdem, Halpern, Harris Reed, JW Anderson, KNWLS, Matty Bovan, Molly Goddard, Nensi Dojaka, Nicholas Daley, Ozwald Boateng, Philip Treacy, Preen, Rejina Pyo, Richard Malone, Richard Quinn, Roksanda, Roland Mouret, Simone Rocha, Stella McCartney, Stephen Jones, Vivienne Westwood, Victoria Beckham, Wales Bonner, and Zandra Rhodes.

THE WINNERS

It was Valentino’s maestro, Pierpaolo Piccioli, took home the big award of the night: Designer of the Year. He was joined by Wales Bonner, crowned Independent British Brand of the Year, and S.S.Daley, who took home the BFC Foundation Award. Bella Hadid took home Model of the Year and Katie Grand was given the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator.

Also on the night, Dazed Media’s Jefferson Hack was recognised for his decade-spanning work in cultural curation and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard was given the Outstanding Achievement Award after he gave the multi-billion dollar brand away earlier this year in an effort to fight climate change.

The night also saw the British Fashion Council honour 15 Leaders of Change who are bettering out industry. Split into three categories – Creativity, Environment and People – honourees included Raf Simons, Alessandro Michele and Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry, as well as young designers Priya Ahluwalia, Marine Serre and Connor Ives.

“As a physically Disabled woman, my interest in fashion was ignited by the opportunity to present and challenge the narrative of who I am to the world,” says fashion multihyphenate Sinéad Burke, who was honoured in the People category. “My advocacy work started with a desire to see greater representation and visibility of Disabled people within fashion. While this has marginally improved, my learning and practice has evolved to not just define visibility and product availability as the sole criterium of success, but to look to the fashion system as a microcosm of culture at large, and find ways to embed accessibility as part of the fabric of this system.”

See the full list of winners below:

Designer of the Year: Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino

BFC Foundation Award: S.S.Daley

Independent British Brand: Wales Bonner

Special Recognition Award for Cultural Curation : Jefferson Hack

Leaders of Change:

Creativity

Recognises designers and brands who made a global impact in the past year through their creativity in design, campaigns, collaborations and firm business foundation as well as defined the shape of global fashion.

Alessandro Michele

Daniel Roseberry

Harris Reed

Ibrahim Kamara

Raf Simons

Environment

Celebrates those who have made a significant contribution towards reducing the environmental impact of our industry to create positive change. They are the leaders and are setting the bar by exploring new business models, design principles, production processes, consumption, and disposal.

Bethany Williams

Connor Ives

Gabriela Hearst

Marine Serre

Priya Ahluwalia

People

Recognises those who have led change by encouraging equal, diverse, empowered workforces from head office to supply chain and shop floor. It focuses on the impact fashion has on communities.

Aurora James

Harry Lambert

Julie Pelipas

Sinéad Burke

Rafael Pavarotti

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