Welcome to the joyful return of the ELLE Style Awards, our celebration of the best of British talent. It’s our moment to shine a light on the designers, actors, musicians and trailblazers of all kinds reimagining their industries in brave new ways and changing how we see the world.
Come and meet the winners…
Lifetime Achievement Award: Vivienne Westwood
When Vivienne Westwood died at the end of 2022, heartfelttributes flooded every fashionable timeline. Andreas Kronthaler, her husband and collaborator of nearly 30 years, said a public goodbye in March with the first catwalk collection for the brand since her death. He reinterpreted classic Westwood-isms, including petticoat skirts and corsets, using antique fabrics they had collected together. Westwood’s granddaughter Cora Corré closed the show.
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It is hard to overstate Westwood’s contribution to fashion. From pushing punk forward to reclaiming the corset as a symbol of empowerment and her commitment to activism, she changed how we think about clothes. She continues to inspire – her influence can be seen everywhere from the current tartan revival to Gen Z’s love of pearl necklaces, while designers including Marc Jacobs and Erdem honoured her in their AW23 shows.
Corré and Kronthaler have worked closely together since Westwood’s death, both starring in the AW23 campaign. The designer remains a lodestar for the brand. ‘Vivienne used fashion as an instrument where she expressed her thoughts, beliefs and discoveries, which changed throughout her life,’ they say. ‘She always challenged the status quo and was tireless in fighting injustice and the destruction of our planet. We will honour and continue this fight.’
The Modern Pioneer Award: Ncuti Gatwa
The Vanguard Award: Sarah Burton
‘Talent comes from everywhere, irrespective of background,’ says Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen. ‘The very foundations of this house are built on this.’ Alexander ‘Lee’ McQueen came from humble beginnings to change fashion forever, and Burton, who grew up in a village in the north of England, the daughter of a teacher and an accountant, and who became McQueen’s right-hand woman after joining the brand in 1996, is committed to honouring his legacy as the custodian of the label they built – both on the catwalk and off it. Since his death in 2010, alongside season after season of lauded collections full of romanticism, technical expertise and history, she has also ensured that the brand contributes to educational programmes across the UK, providing opportunities for the next trailblazer.
Even as the head of a globally respected brand, Burton still recognises the importance of her formative years. ‘It is vital to me that we offer continued support to young people,’ she says. ‘The programmes are something I fundamentally believe in.’ A Team Arts Education, which works with 11 to 19 year olds in east London, is particularly close to Burton’s heart – it allows her to give back to the next generation, and meeting these new talents enriches her own practice. ‘The interactions we have with young people – their ideas, creativity and imagination – continue to be an inspiration to me.’
The Trailblazer Award: Tems
The Culture Shifter Award: Martine Rose
When it comes to the world of designer Martine Rose, the only certainty is that you will be surprised. Take the campaign to launch her latest Nike collection: it featured footballer Leah Williamson, musician Babymorocco and Nineties TV legend Ruby Wax.
This might sound like a disparate cast of characters, but it demonstrates how Rose picks from all corners of culture in an effort to move the needle. Mundane, ordinary and even cringeworthy items become desirable. See her Nike Shox shoe, redesigned as a mule – a detail that perplexes trainer purists but delights high-fashion fans.
Rose launched her brand in 2007. Although ostensibly menswear, it has a customer base split 50/50 across men and women. She grew up in Croydon, south London, and has spoken about how she was more inspired by her cousins attending raves than anything she saw in the pages of glossy magazines. This perspective has remained but, as her profile has grown, an aesthetic inspired by the margins is moving to the mainstream.
In June, Rose was announced as the first-ever guest creative director for Clarks, and she dressed the USA women’s football team at this year’s World Cup. Kendrick Lamar, meanwhile, wore her designs to the Grammys and gave her the ultimate honour by name-checking her in his song ‘The Hillbillies’: ‘Yeah, n****s know that I’m best-dressed/Wear Martine when I board jets.’ As Rose continues to rise, you get the feeling that soon Lamar won’t be the only one.
The British Icon Award: Florence Pugh
Designer Of The Year: Kim Jones
In September 2020, Kim Jones was named artistic director of Fendi, taking on the job alongside his role at Dior menswear. Dividing his time between two brands, he followed in the footsteps of fashion’s ultimate multitasker Karl Lagerfeld, who led both Fendi and Chanel. And, just like Lagerfeld, he ensures work for each label shines brightly.
After cutting his teeth in streetwear, Jones has turned his hand to sportswear and luxury menswear (Dunhill, Louis Vuitton). Collaboration is essential to his MO: he has worked with artists and designers ranging from Peter Doig to Denim Tears’ Tremaine Emory. His most famous Fendi collab was with his friend Donatella Versace, and was affectionately known as ‘Fendace’.
Jones’ work is enriched by his interests – he is an avid collector, particularly of art by the Bloomsbury Group and archive pieces from Christopher Nemeth and Vivienne Westwood. This year, his work at Fendi shows how he responds to what is around him. Jones’ latest couture show for the brand featured effortlessly glamorous floor-length dresses, nailing the ‘quiet luxury’ look. Even at the couture level, he saw the desire for something a little more down-to-earth. ‘When I create a collection, I look at what’s already there first. I put together what’s relevant in the here and now with things that are a part of my life and that I’m interested in,’ he says. ‘I listen to our customers, think about what they want and need.’ Sign us up.
The Performer Award: Suki Waterhouse
The Collective Award: #Merky Books
#Merky Books launched in 2018, the same year a landmark survey revealed that, between 1950 and 2018, 95% of American fiction books published were written by white authors. Closer to home, another study from 2019 found that 86% of British publishing staff were white. These statistics confirmed what we already knew: publishing needed to change.
Enter Stormzy, and his pioneering collaboration with Penguin Books. ‘There is energy and integrity about what we do, where we show up in culture and, crucially, what we publish,’ says senior commissioning editor Lemara Lindsay-Price. ‘We’re committed to building a new legacy of literature and bringing the mainstream to where “we” – meaning voices that are grounded in intersectionality and inclusivity – already are, rather than the other way round.’
Now in its fifth year, the imprint has published a wealth of prize-winning literature, from emerging talents to celebrated authors, as well as running the annual New Writers’ Prize for underrepresented voices and hosting talks in UK schools. ‘I’m always thinking of the Toni Morrison quote: “I stood at the edge and claimed it as central,”’ says Lindsay-Price. ‘That’s how we disrupt things – by publishing brilliant new writers, such as Will Rayfet Hunter and Hafsa Zayyan, and titans of literature including Malorie Blackman and Yrsa Daley-Ward, and owning their right to tell brilliant, engaging and powerful stories in a way that is true to them.’
The Changemaker Award: Gemma Chan
The Breakthrough Designer Award: Feben
There’s nothing ordinary about Feben’s ready-to-wear, which is often puckered, printed, tactile and imbued with impactful storytelling. It’s obvious, then, why the 33-year-old Ethiopian creative (born Feben Vemmenby in North Korea and raised in Sweden) has superstars including Beyoncé, who commissioned her to design looks for the Renaissance tour, Erykah Badu and Michaela Coel knocking at her door.
Following her graduate collection from Central Saint Martins in 2020, Feben has become one of the breakout stars of the London fashion scene. Her intention is never to make simply ‘pretty’ clothing; there are layers of meaning, experience and imagination in her work, all of which evoke curiosity in both the wearer and the onlooker. Community and integrity are imbedded in the brand’s DNA, so it’s no surprise that stockists including Browns and Ssense were quick to invest in the designer’s vision.
For Feben’s tarot-inspired AW23 collection, she enlisted the musician Jorja Smith to walk in one of her signature twisted garments. The focus was on the Chariot, a card that is associated with strength and overcoming obstacles – both of which hold deep associations for her.
During a time when it’s easier to conform and assimilate in the fashion industry than to take risks, having game-changing designers like Feben has never been more important – and thrilling.
