Valentino and Sam Smith rewarded at the Fashion Awards in London

More than 3,000 guests, including Hollywood stars Anne Hathaway and Gwyneth Paltrow, attended the Fashion Awards 2023 at London's Royal Albert Hall on Monday to celebrate one of the biggest nights in fashion.

The event is the main fundraiser for the British Fashion Council, a non-profit organization that promotes the British fashion industry Internationally, it is also an opportunity to celebrate the industry which employs nearly 900,000 people. people and contributes more than £21 billion to the UK economy.

One ​​of the evening's first winners was British designer Sarah Burton, who received a special recognition award. In September, Burton announced that she was leaving her position as creative director of Alexander McQueen. During her 27 years in office, she notably designed the wedding dress of the Princess of Wales. In accepting her award, she paid tribute to the late Lee Alexander McQueen, describing him as "the greatest designer of our generation."

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Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson won the Designer of the Year award, recognizing both his work within his own label, JW Anderson, and his role as creative director of the Spanish fashion house. Loewe.

Valentino Garavani, the founder of Valentino, received an award for outstanding achievement. Known for his stunning haute couture gowns, Garavani was the go-to designer for Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis throughout the '60s. A striking purple hue he created became known simply as "Valentino red ".

The 91-year-old, now retired, sold the brand in 1998 for $300 million (£237 million) to Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli. It is now controlled by the Qatari group Mayhoola and Kering acquired 30% of Valentino last July for €1.7 billion (£1.5 billion).