Picture a red carpet event on a December evening in London, and it would probably look a little like arriving at the Fashion Awards earlier tonight: gridlocked cars, endless drizzle, and the shadow of the Royal Albert Hall looming on the horizon.
Thankfully, the sea of umbrellas hovering above peoples’ heads didn’t deter anyone from serving all-out glamour. Step onto that red carpet, and there was Hollywood royalty everywhere you turned: Anne Hathaway in an archival Valentino Garavani scoop-neck gown walking on the arm of the Italian designer’s business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti; a radiant Pamela Anderson in a Stella McCartney pantsuit; Gwyneth Paltrow, also in archival Valentino, but wearing the designer’s signature shade of red with a cape covered in sprouting feathered curls. The stars rubbed shoulders—quite literally, given space was at a premium under all those umbrellas—with a new guard of fashion upstarts, from supermodel progeny Lila Moss in Nensi Dojaka to Taylor Russell in custom Loewe.
Once inside, the air-kissing (and gossiping) took place under a glittering disco ball that somehow managed to dominate even the 5,000-plus capacity Royal Albert Hall, as the equally glittering fashion crowd took their seats ready for the evening’s proceedings. The opening act was the rising musician Mette, who may look familiar from Pharrell and Rihanna’s 2017 “Lemon” video, but has returned to the spotlight this year as a star in her own right. Stepping out in a covered-up black dress and throwing shapes with an army of dancers behind her, she whipped away the outer layer of her outfit in a RuPaul’s Drag Race-worthy costume change, revealing a studded pink bralette, matching high-waisted mini shorts, and a pair of thigh-high latex boots—all while bringing the house down with a rendition of her song “Van Gogh.” The Fashion Awards were in session.
Then came the introduction of the night’s hosts, musician Kojey Radical and TV presenter Maya Jama. “The weather outside was bad, innit—how many of you are soaking?” Jama said to uproarious cheers. “I had a hair dryer up my legs a minute ago.” The ceremony may have dispensed with its “British” prefix back in 2016, but the humor remains firmly the same.
Next, it was on to the prizes, the first of which, the BFC Foundation award, went to Conner Ives, the upstart American designer who made a splash with his fashion-editor-favorite spliced T-shirt dresses, and has steadily built an audience for his cheeky (and increasingly accomplished) collections blending his encyclopedic appetite for pop culture with his eye for party dresses and upcycled piano shawl tops. He was the first of tonight’s winners who cited the welcoming spirit of the city—and its fashion community. The maverick team behind Chopova Lowena, whose work melds Bulgarian handicrafts with American sports culture, won the New Establishment award for womenswear (and have their priorities straight—they thanked their boyfriends and their dogs first in their speech). Even Bianca Saunders, a Londoner through and through, but whose work as a designer nods to her Jamaican heritage, noted winning her award only solidified her sense of “community and togetherness.”
One of the most powerful moments came when British Vogue’s departing editor-in-chief Edward Enninful presented a special achievement award to the former creative director of Alexander McQueen, Sarah Burton: a leading light of British fashion over the past decade (and, as Enninful’s speech made clear, even further back). Describing the East End as a “playground” on his nights knocking about with McQueen in the early ’90s, Enninful recalled the legendary designer telling him about a new girl he’d just hired, whose talents he was immediately excited by. “This excitement was well founded, as it transpired that this young woman was the incomparable Sarah Burton,” said Enninful. “Not just one of the great British designers, but one of the greatest designers on the planet. You have given us a lifetime of beautiful designs, but you’ve also given us a legacy for Lee that—through the pain—we didn’t know was possible at that time.” Burton’s own speech was self-effacing, in her typical style. “I’m definitely not worthy of all that, Edward,” she said, as the room erupted into cheers.
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It turned out to be a night of many firsts. At the age of 28, Maximilian Davis became the first Black designer to win designer of the year in any category. Specifically, he took home the British womenswear designer of the year award for his smart and supremely elegant work at the Italian house of Ferragamo. (He was awarded the well-deserved prize by British Vogue’s incoming head of editorial content, Chioma Nnadi, wearing a ravishing caped dress in Davis’s trademark shade of blazing Ferragamo red.) Meanwhile, Paloma Elsesser became the first curve model to be named model of the year, another long-overdue accolade, given her ongoing efforts to leave the ladder down for the next generation of models behind her, and one she received in a show-stopping cut-out gown by—you guessed it—Davis at Ferragamo. “I think we should be willing to critique,” she said of her approach to navigating the minefield of being outspoken as a model within the fashion industry. “Not just for the industry, though—but for the world we live in.”
As well as breaking down barriers, it was a night of paying respects: First and foremost, to Dame Vivienne Westwood. Her legacy was felt not only in all of the red carpet looks that were either of Westwood origin, or paid direct homage to her, but in Sam Smith’s mid-ceremony performance of their smash hit “Unholy” wearing a Disney villain-worthy gown designed by Andreas Kronthaler, the late designer’s longtime partner. It was a subversive spectacle that Westwood (who styled her models without taking gender into consideration as far back as the early ’80s) would surely have reveled in.
Arguably the evening’s most touching moment, however, came with a tribute to one of London’s most steadfast and consistently undersung fashion talents, Joe Casely-Hayford, who died in 2019 after a three-year battle with cancer. His son, Charlie Casely-Hayford—a respected designer in his own right, who partnered with his father on their namesake brand at the age of 22, and has continued to build its reputation for impeccable tailoring—accepted a posthumous special recognition award on his father’s behalf. But before he did so, a clip of a 1993 interview between Enninful and the elder Casely-Hayford played on the screens above. “I was always interested in design at school, I think because I felt alienated as a young Black man, and I wanted to become an individual,” said Casely-Hayford. “I’ve traveled around the world but I’ve always found that London is the place where I find new ideas.”
In light of Enninful’s moving speech as recipient of the night’s Trailblazer Award, presented by Jodie Comer and Stormzy, it was a sentiment that felt especially resonant. “My incredible team at Vogue: you have been the architects of some of the most incredible work I have ever seen. I am in awe of you, and grateful to you for being my eternal inspiration, and my greatest cheerleaders,” Enninful said. “Finally, I want to end with a message. To every young aspiring person seeking a future in fashion. Fear nothing, fear no one, believe in yourself, and do things your way. And I can’t wait to see what you bring to our wonderful world.”
Despite the many barriers that still exist, London remains a beacon of diversity in fashion, across the various spectrums of ethnicity, national identity, gender, and sexuality. It was a message echoed by another Vogue editor, Sarah Mower, who was given the special recognition award for championing young designer talent by Game of Thrones actor Gwendoline Christie. “Receiving this from the magnificent Brienne of Tarth—the greatest honor of all time!” Mower joked.
“But I have a dark secret to confess—my darkest secret,” she continued. “It’s my joy and my privilege to work with young designers. Yet I’ve always learned far more from you than the other way around. So, thank you for teaching us to never be so arrogant to think we know it all.” Mower went on to outline the challenges facing arts education in the U.K., as the Conservative government’s 13-year tenure has decimated opportunities for those from lower-income backgrounds to pursue careers in creative fields. “The truth is that creative talent is not distributed by parental income, so I’m here to ask you to keep the door open to everyone,” she said. “How else can the industry have the beauty, the equality, the diversity, the fairness it needs?”
For all the flashy spectacle of what the Fashion Awards are today, it’s this kind of moment that reminds you of what they’re really about: encouraging the next generation of talent—the students given tickets in the nosebleed seats, and the friends they bring with them—to keep plugging away. The incomparable Martine Rose finally got her dues by winning British menswear designer of the year tonight, accepting her award in a jazzy vest and leather trousers, cool as a cucumber. And she took her moment to shout them out.
“To the students in the gods,” she said, grinning. “The future is yours—make it yours.” It’s hard to see it through all the eye-popping spectacle and garish branded partnerships that make a night like tonight happen, but as always, Rose was a voice of wisdom: believe in yourself, and the rest will come. It might sound trite, and it doesn’t account for the obstacles so many designers face to make their vision a reality. But if that DIY, dreamer’s spirit isn’t the essence of making it in British fashion, well, then what is?
Listen to Vogue editors talk more about this year’s Fashion Awards on this episode of The Run-Through here.
