Until the summer of 2018, Daniel Lee was an industry unknown working behind the scenes. Now, he’s fashion’s power player and has steered Bottega Veneta, one of luxury’s loftiest houses, to success via cult products that play on its famed heritage. His latest coup? Scooping up not one, but all four of the accolades he was nominated for at the Fashion Awards 2019: Accessories Designer of the Year, Womenswear Designer of the Year, Brand of the Year and Designer of the Year.
We all saw it coming. Lee’s ability to generate hype is remarkable, but for every influencer toting his cloud-like The Pouch bags, there are former Philophiles pledging allegiance to his directional but easy-to-wear pieces influenced by his time at Céline. “My job is to really make Bottega Veneta part of the fashion conversation, but this is a true heritage house, and that is something that moves a lot slower and in a very different way to something that’s ‘fashion’,” Lee told Sarah Harris in the October issue of British Vogue. “Trying to change this house into a fashion brand is a huge task.”
Change was a theme also reflected in the winner of the Urban Luxe category: Fenty, Rihanna’s namesake label, which threw the rule book out the window when it launched in May. Not only does it represent the first major brand LVMH has founded from scratch, it’s the first maison helmed by a black woman. “Personally, for me as an immigrant moving to America; that’s a big journey for me to even get here to Paris. And that’s something I celebrate and embrace,” Rihanna told Vogue at the time. Since then, she’s kept us on our toes with product drops every six to eight weeks, each telling another chapter of her story. The best part? Everyone is invited on the journey. The collection is diverse, size inclusive and price conscious in a competitive market. “I really appreciate that LVMH is flexible enough to allow me to have a different perspective on how I want to [do] things,” she said of her financial backer.
Model of the Year Adut Akech has been a trailblazer from day one, calling out racism that still slips through the cracks, and converting her personal success story into a parable for refugees. The South Sudanese-Australian beauty covered seven Vogues this year and five September issues, but she’s also on a mission to finish school (a promise to her mother), and to support the beautiful women of her homeland, who don’t have the resources to make it in the fashion industry. “I don’t want to be known as ‘Adut, the model’, I want to be known as someone who made a positive impact,” she told Vogue in the September Forces for Change issue, which she fronted with 14 other inspirational women. “It’s an honour to be used as an example of what diversity looks like [but] I want to be more involved with charities that are changing people’s lives.”
Among the Special Recognition Awards, Naomi Campbell was officially recognised as a fashion icon, Sarah Burton was heralded as an industry trailblazer, Giorgio Armani was honoured for his outstanding achievements, and Christopher Kane was dubbed the designer’s designer during a night that shone a spotlight on excellence and innovation, but also the energy taking fashion forward into a new decade.
Award for Positive Change: Signatories of the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action
Accepted by: Emmanuel Gintzburger, Alexander McQueen; Gabriele Maggio, Stella McCartney; José Neves, Farfetch; Stefan Seidel, Puma; Thierry Andretta, Mulberry and Wolfgang Blau, Condé Nast.
Brand of the Year: Bottega Veneta.
British Emerging Talent Menswear: Bethany Williams for Bethany Williams.
British Emerging Talent Womenswear: Rejina Pyo for Rejina Pyo.
Special Tribute to Karl Lagerfeld.
Urban Luxe: Fenty.
Business Leader: Remo Ruffini for Moncler.
Fashion Icon: Naomi Campbell.
Accessories Designer of the Year: Daniel Lee for Bottega Veneta.
Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator: Sam McKnight.
Designers’ Designer Award: Christopher Kane for Christopher Kane.
Trailblazer Award: Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
British Designer of the Year Menswear: Kim Jones for Dior Men.
British Designer of the Year Womenswear: Daniel Lee for Bottega Veneta.
Model of the Year: Adut Akech.
Designer of the Year: Daniel Lee for Bottega Veneta.
Outstanding Achievement Award: Giorgio Armani.
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