WGSN Global Fashion Awards announces shortlist

Last night in London, the shortlist for the third annual WGSN Global Fashion Awards were announced with nominations going to designers Victoria Beckham and Emma Hill for Mulberry, as well as retailer’s Marks & Spencer, Net-a-Porter and Topshop.

The awards honour “inspirational and innovative individuals and businesses” who are pushing the boundaries, propelling the industry forward and setting the design agenda on a global scale, and feature categories ranging from best designer for women’s and menswear, best design teams in womenswear, menswear, footwear & accessories, kidswear and denim, as well as best store and e-store.

Last year, Erdem scooped the coveted Womenswear Designer award beating off tough competition from Miuccia Prada and Christopher Bailey, and this year the award will hopefully be won once again by a British-based designer as Victoria Beckham, Christopher Kane, and Jonathan Saunders are up against New York designer Alexander Wang for the title.

There were further nominations for British designers: Emma Hill for Mulberry and Charlotte Olympia lead the nominations for Footwear and Accessories Designer, up against 3.1 Philip Lim and Loewe; and Kim Jones for Louis Vuitton, Paul Surridge for Z Zegna, Patrick Grant for E. Tautz, will be battling against Dries Van Noten for Menswear Designer of the year.

In the team nominations, there were nods for Net-a-Porter and Liberty buying teams, the Cambridge Satchel Company in the Footwear & Accessories Design Team category, and Hackett and Fred Perry are up against touch competition in Hugo Boss and Bosideng in the Menswear Design Team award.

Marks & Spencer will take on Victoria’s Secret, Seafolly and OndadeMar in the new category honouring the Intimates/Swim Design Team. Whereas, Topshop and Karen Millen are up against H&M and J.Crew for the Womenswear Design Team accolade, and Next will need to beat off tough competition from Kmart, Fred Bare and Macarons to win the Kidswear Design Team category.

One of the most anticipated awards will be for the Best Store and this year it is the battle of the luxury department stores with Selfridges and Harrods taking on Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford, Barneys New York, and El Palacio de Hierro in Mexico.

This year’s winners will be announced at an award ceremony taking place at The Savoy in London on November 5, and will be decided by a judging panel consisting of some of the most prominent and influential individuals in the fashion and style industry from around the world.

Image: Victoria Beckham SS13