The 2023 edition of the British Fashion Awards took place at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Monday night, and a host of famous faces turned out to celebrate.
The event was attended by 3,000 guests, including veteran model Kate Moss, actresses Anne Hathaway, Pamela Anderson and Gwyneth Paltrow, as well as human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who wore head-to-toe sequins by Atelier Versace.
This year's winners included British Vogue’s outgoing editor Edward Enninful, who scooped the TrailBlazer Award for his work towards better inclusivity in fashion. Meanwhile, Sarah Burton, who recently stepped down from her job as creative lead at Alexander McQueen, received a Special Recognition Award. In her speech, Burton praised her former boss, the late designer McQueen, who she described as “the greatest designer of our generation”.
Make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury also received a Special Recognition Award for her contribution to the fashion industry.
Valentino Garavani, the designer who gave the world the couture house of Valentino, was given the Outstanding Achievement Award, for a fashion career that began in 1959. Although Valentino retired in 2008, having already sold the label a decade earlier for $300 million, his influence continues to reverberate throughout the fashion industry. Today, the label is headed by Pierpaolo Piccioli.
The Designer of the Year was Northern Irishman Jonathan Anderson, known for his namesake brand JW Anderson and the Spanish luxury house, Loewe. The British Womenswear Designer Award went to Maximilian Davis, for her work at the Italian house of Ferragamo, while the British Menswear Designer Award was handed to Martine Rose, for her eponymous brand.
Model of the Year went to Paloma Elsesser. Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena, the founders of Chopova Lowena, bagged the New Establishment Womenswear Award, for their work helping to preserve traditional techniques.
The Posthumous Special Recognition Award was given to the late-designer Joe Casely-Hayford for the sleek tailoring he helped pioneer. Although Casely-Hayford died in 2019, his label is now run by his children who accepted the award on his behalf.
Singer Sam Smith, meanwhile, won the Cultural Innovator Award.
Kate Moss's daughter Lila was in the audience, as were models Winnie Harlow, Erin O’Connor, Georgia May Jagger and Suki Waterhouse among others.
Spider-Man actor Andrew Garfield also attended the event alongside Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams and F1 driver Lewis Hamilton. The music industry was represented by Stormzy, FKA Twigs, Ellie Goulding and Rita Ora, who arrived with her husband, film director Taika Waititi.
The British Fashion Awards mainly serves as a fund raiser for the British Fashion Council, a non-profit organisation that helps support and promote the UK fashion industry worldwide.
