The awards season is upon us, where those designers and brands who have
inspired us are recognised and awarded for their contribution to the
fashion industry.
It’s an annual event with all the excitement of a Ralph Lauren catwalk
show, in that sometimes you know what you’re going to get.
The New York Times was brave to call out the farce of fashion awards after
the British Fashion Council published its list of nominees along with an
obligatory celebratory quote from chairman Natalie Massanet which said:
“This annual event is fast becoming one of the highlights of the global
fashion calendar. The awards recognise the incredible talent we are so
fortunate to work with and celebrates the excellence and creativity within
our industry both at home and abroad.”
Because the problem with the British Fashion Awards is that the nominees
are the same each season. The fashion pool is so small that every fish in
it will be selected multiple times. For all the diversity we look for on
the catwalk and in stores, none of it is relevant when it comes to the
award season.
Take for example the Red Carpet Award, which sees nominee Christopher Kane,
who won in 2013 for womenswear, in 2011 for new establishment, in 2009 for
B.F.C. British collection (the names and categories keep changing) and in
2007 for New Generation. Also nominated is Erdem, who won in 2014 for
womenswear and in 2013 for Red Darpet (The designer is also nominated for
the Establishment Award this year.) Another previously awarded nominee is
Roksanda, who won in 2012 for Red Carpet, and Tom Ford, who in June won
Designer of the Year at the CFDA in New York and who interestingly hasn’t
shown in London for two seasons.
In the real world, designers are brands don’t compete just for a local
customer. Their businesses wouldn’t survive even one season. Christopher
Kane, Erdem and Roksanda are vying for the same rail space in the same
stores as every other contemporary womenswear designer in the world, so why
not make the awards more global? Success is measured in part by commercial
viability and these brands are performing on the same stage with those in
other fashion jurisdictions.
True, it is important to celebrate homegrown talent, to recognise the
successes and creativity of our peers, but to recycle the same names to the
same awards season after season, seems ill befitting of an industry that
pushes for the ‘new’ more than any other field or profession.
As the New York Times noted, “instead of painting a picture of a vibrant,
diverse, growing group, they make it seem small. And who really benefits
from that, other than the entity selling the gala tickets?”