LONDON – Valentino’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli took top prize at the Fashion Awards on Monday night at the Royal Albert Hall.
The Designer of the Year is chosen by an international jury of 1,000 industry figures, and this year the other nominees were Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson and Loewe; Matthieu Blazy for Bottega Veneta; Miuccia Prada.
Demna for Balenciaga had until recently been a contender for the award, but he and the brand withdrew from the ceremony due to ongoing controversy over two Balenciaga ad campaigns involving children and pornography.
Both Balenciaga and Demna have apologized for the ads. Demna had been seen as a favorite for the designer award due to his bold and forward-thinking live events and his influence on the industry.
The award is given to a British or international creative whose collections have made “a notable impact on the industry, defining the shape of global fashion,” according to the BFC.
Piccioli made waves this year with his all-pink fall 2022 collection, sending models dressed in a deep magenta “Pink PP,” a new Pantone color the designer created himself.
“I wanted to work as a monochrome artist,” said the designer. “When you look at a color, you have to go beyond the surface, texture, cuts, silhouette, volume and detail. Since I’m not a stylist, I like being a designer”.
She described pink as a color “that can have different sides” and noted how it can be sweet, sexy, powerful and rebellious.
The Fashion Awards event raises funds for the BFC Foundation, a charity that supports the future growth and success of the British fashion industry by focusing on talent, education, grant-making and business mentoring. The foundation also aims to improve equality and opportunity in the industry.
The BFC said that in the 2021-22 financial year, it remitted more than £1.3m in funds to designers and students.
Source: news.google.com