The Fashion Awards 2025 announces first nominees
The British Fashion Council (BFC) has announced the Designer of the Year_ British Womenswear Designer_ British Menswear Designer and the Vanguard Award nominees for The Fashion Awards 2025.
The annual awards will take place on December 1 at The Royal Albert Hall in London_ and will celebrate British and international fashion talent while also raising funds for the BFC Foundation_ which supports the British fashion industry by focusing on education_ grant-giving_ and business mentoring.
This year_s accolades include Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson once again being nominated for Designer of the Year_ an award he has won two years running. This year_ he is nominated for his signature JW Anderson label and his new role as creative director of Dior_ the French luxury fashion house he joined in June.
He will be up against tough competition from Glenn Martens for Diesel and Maison Margiela_ Martine Rose_ Miuccia Prada for Miu Miu_ Rick Owens and Willy Chavarria_ who have all been selected for producing “innovative collections” that have made “a notable impact on the industry_ defining the shape of global fashion”.
Can Jonathan Anderson be named Designer of the Year for a third time at The Fashion Awards?
For British Womenswear Designer of the Year_ an award recognising homegrown talent that has made a “global impact with their innovative and creative designs_ shaping the international womenswear landscape_” last year_s winner Simone Rocha is nominated alongside Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault for Knwls_ Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena for Chopova Lowena_ Erdem Moralıoğlu for Erdem_ and Sarah Burton for Givenchy.
The British Menswear Designer of the Year accolade may be one of the tightest awards this year_ with Grace Wales Bonner for Wales Bonner_ last year_s winner_ taking on Craig Green_ Foday Dumbuya for Labrum London_ Kiko Kostadinov_ Nicholas Daley_ Stefan Cooke and Jake Burt for Stefan Cooke.
The BFC also announced the nominees for the Vanguard award_ created to recognise a designer at “the forefront of a new wave in British fashion_” who can demonstrate “visionary creativity_ cultural leadership and global influence and helping to shape the future of fashion”.
The nominees are: Aaron Esh_ Dilara Fındıkoğlu_ Feben_ Steve O Smith_ Tolu Coker_ and Torishéju Dumi for Torishéju.
The shortlist of nominees was selected by a jury of 19 distinguished critics_ editors and buyers invited by the BFC. The shortlist will now be presented to a voting committee of leading industry members_ who will cast votes confidentially. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in December.
The Fashion Awards will also celebrate accessories_ models_ and leaders of change. The BFC has also previously announced that Italian designer Brunello Cucinelli will be awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award for his "exceptional contribution to the world of fashion_ as a pioneer who has succeeded in combining luxury and design with a more responsible approach to business”.