The 2023 Fashion Awards are just around the corner, and the British Fashion Council has now announced its last round of nominees, including the highly coveted categories of Designer of the Year and the BFC Foundation NEWGEN Designer of the Year.
The Designer of the Year Award is the category of the night, recognising a British or international designer. Previous winners have included Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli, Phoebe Philo for Céline, and Alexander McQueen at his namesake brand – so obviously, the stakes are high.
This year’s nominees includes Burberry’s Daniel Lee (who won in 2019 for his work at Bottega Veneta), Jonathan Anderson for both LOEWE and JW Anderson, Matthieu Blazy at Bottega Veneta, Prada’s dual creative forces Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons (who won for his solo work at Calvin Klein in 2017), and Sarah Burton for her work at Alexander McQueen (previously decorated with the award in 2011).
The award could go to anyone, with Sarah Burton potentially being honoured for her work spanning over a decade at Alexander McQueen, after the news recently broke out she would be stepping down and replaced by Seán McGirr. On the other hand, if Mrs Prada and Raf Simons win, this will mark the first time in BFA history that a creative duo working for the same brand has been awarded – in 1997 both Alexander McQueen and John Galliano won the award, though both working for their own namesake brands.
As exciting as a race between the top dogs is to witness, it isn’t the only category worth mentioning. The BFC have also announced the nominees for its BFC Foundation NEWGEN Designer of the Year award, which celebrates up-and-coming designers.
This year, Chet Lo, AARON ESH, Conner Ives, Paolo Carzana, and Sinéad O’Dwyer have all made the shortlist. With a good mix of Central Saint Martins graduates, London Fashion Week vets, and debutants, the NEWGEN category is looking like a hard one to pick out a winner from – judges, we do not envy you.
Earlier this year, the BFC announced the nominees for its other categories, including British Menswear Designer, British Womenswear Designer, New Establishment Menswear, New Establishment Womenswear and Model of the Year. Names attached to those categories include Kim Jones, Maximilian Davis, Anok Yai, Martine Rose, Kiko Kostadinov and most (and least, if you really think about it) surprisingly Corteiz. Click here for the full list of nominees.
As every year, the winners will be announced on the night of the award ceremony, taking place on December 4, 2023. Whatever the outcome may be, the judges certainly have their work cut out for them.
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