British Fashion Awards 2012 winners unveiled

Stella McCartney was the biggest winner at last night’s British Fashion Awards taking home two awards; the British designer received the highest accolade being named Designer of the Year, as well as the Designer Brand award for her eponymous

label.

Hosted by the British Fashion Council, both honours were presented to McCartney at a glitzy ceremony at the Savoy Hotel and theatre in London, in recognition of her momentous year through her achievements in the fashion industry and her contribution to Team GB in 2012.

This year’s BFA’s, which presented 14 awards recognising creative talent and design excellence were hosted by Gemma Arterton and Nick Grimshaw, and included a stellar line-up of guests including BFC Ambassador Samantha Cameron, Zaha Hadid, Salma Hayek, Amber Valletta, Ronnie Wood, Valentino, Christopher Kane and Alexa Chung.

As well as wins for Stella McCartney, womenswear designer Erdem was honoured with the New Establishment award, Roksanda Ilincic was the recipient of this year’s Red Carpet Award, in recognition of her designs being worn by the likes of the Duchess of Cambridge, Samantha Cameron, and Michelle Obama, and Kim Jones was named Menswear Designer of the Year for the second year in a row, based on his contribution to the menswear industry and most notably for his work at the helm of luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton’s menswear ready-to-wear line.

J.W. Anderson, Sophie Hulme and Jonathan Saunders all picked up Emerging Talent gongs. Anderson cited as one of the British names to watch for the future took home the Ready-to-Wear accolade; Hulme won the Accessories category in recognition of her bag designs gaining global attention; and Saunders, known for his womenswear, was awarded the Menswear accolade for his breakthrough menswear debut.

There were also awards for footwear designer Nicholas Kirkwood who won the Accessory Designer Award, Cara Delevingne picked up the Model award, in recognition of her contribution to the international fashion scene over the past year, and the once again the public honoured Alexa Chung’s style credentials by awarding her the British Style Award.

Manolo Blahnik was presented with his Outstanding Achievement in Fashion accolade by Zaha Hadid, and Professor Louise Wilson OBE received the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator, in recognition of her creative inspiration and influence in the fashion industry.

There was also a Special Recognition award given to Harold Tillman, who was honoured for his term as chairman of the British Fashion Council and his contribution to the fashion industry. In accepting his award, Tillman said: “The last five years have been extraordinary and seeing the BFC and the fashion industry go from strength to strength is a reward in itself so it is completely unexpected to be given this award.

“My term as chair ends in just a few weeks time and I am so grateful to all those at the BFC and our designers who have inspired and supported me in equal measure. It has been an honour to serve this great industry for so long - Thank you all.”

Image: BFC/BFA Winners - J.W. Anderson; Alexa Chung; Kim Jones; Cara Delevingne; Jonathan Saunders; Roksanda Ilincic; Professor Louise Wilson OBE; Erdem; Manolo Blahnik; Stella McCartney; Sophie Hulme and Nicholas Kirkwood