World of Fashion
British Fashion Council Presents: The Fashion Awards 2025
By Yvonne Heinen-Foudeh, Senior International Correspondent
The BFC continues to highlight the role fashion plays at the intersection of culture. “The Fashion Award presented by Pandora,” which announces the numerous winners across a range of categories and hands out awards, is an entertainment platform for global fashion brands to join leading British designers, artists, creatives, and trend leaders, and serves as a fundraiser for the BFC Foundation. The event this year returned to London’s Royal Albert Hall, was held on 1st December 2025.
With the Isabella Blow Special Award for Fashion Creators, the British Fashion Council is honoring Rei Kawakubo, Adrian Joffe, and Dickon Bowden this year. They are being featured for their contribution to the global fashion industry through the founding of Dover Street Market (DSM), a concept store that combines fashion, art, and commerce. Since 2004, DSM has been shaping the international retail landscape with locations in London, New York, and Tokyo.
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Winner of the Special Recognition Award 2025: Delphine Arnault was additionally appointed chairwoman and CEO of the family holding brand Christian Dior Couture by her father, Bernard Arnault, majority shareholder and CEO of the luxury goods group LVMH, in 2013. Delphine was educated at a French-American school in New York. © Brigitte Lacombe
Dephine Arnalult received the ”Special Recognition Award” for her services to the international fashion industry. The member of the Louis Vuitton Group's senior management team and deputy managing director of Louis Vuitton is being awarded for her long-standing commitment to promoting young designers. In 2014, Arnault initiated the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers, which is now one of the most important international platforms for young talent. In addition, Dior Men supports a scholarship for British fashion students in the field of menswear through the BFC Foundation.
The British Fashion Council (BFC) awarded Anok Yai the title “Model of the Year”. The jury recognized the model's global influence, which has shaped the industry over the past year. Yai has appeared in campaigns for Versace, Alaïa, and Saint Laurent, among others, and remains the face of Mugler's “Alien” fragrance.
“The Outstanding Achievement Award” went to Brunello Cucinelli, celebrating the Italian’s tremendous creative contributions that have consistently shaped and reshaped the fashion world throughout his career. Previous winners of the Award include Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren, Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard, Giorgio Armani, Mr. Valentino (Garavani), Miuccia Prada, and Karl Lagerfeld.
BFC’s “Cultural Innovator Award” celebrates a “leading innovator and image maker in the entertainment industry, who over the course of the year has had a profound impact on the fashion industry and wider culture.” And the winner of 2025 is: the British rapper, hip-hop musician, and actress Little Simz.
Crowned Model of the Year in London: Anok Yai, born in Egypt to South Sudanese parents and raised in the US, is one of the visual icons of the fashion world. © Joe Maher/Getty Images for BFC
Brunello Cucinelli, creative director and the executive chairman of his eponymous made in Italy luxury brand, which wears his very own name. © Fashion Today
Little Simz – the cultural fashion impact of this versatile artist, whose music and exciting voice ranges between hip-hop, grime, rock, jazz, and classical music, earned her the jury's recognition with the Cultural Innovator Award. With her most recent album “Lotus,” the British artist has created a masterpiece.