How much fun can you have on a Monday night? Britain’s fashion set was determined to find out. On December 1, the 2025 iteration of The Fashion Awards, the annual celebration of the industry’s brightest talent took place. It was a star-studded night, a flurry of sparkles, high-octane performances and, yes, a little drizzle.
The red — midnight blue, actually — carpet is where all the action began. Alexa Chung, high priestess of British It-girls, wore a sculptural drop waist frock by Chloé (wind-resistant too, with its nylon finish and funnel neck), while Lila Moss went for a feathered mini by 16Arlington. Sienna Miller debuted her third pregnancy in an ethereal white Givenchy gown, and Raye was decked in sparkles courtesy of Ferrari and Tiffany. Meanwhile, a suite of models — Emily Ratajkowski, Amelia Gray, Yasmin Wijnaldum — flew a flag for the party girls in flirty, sparkly looks from the soon-to-debut Stella McCartney x H&M collaboration (their first collaboration in 20 years).
Once the stars were ushered in, the proceedings could begin. Actor Colman Domingo worked the crowd as emcee, and awards were handed out to the likes of Little Simz (Cultural Innovator of the Year), Dilara Findikoglu (Vanguard) and the Australian stylist Sam Woolf (the newly created Style Moment of the Year Award, presented by Pandora). Raye took to the stage to perform under glittering lights, as Mick Jagger, Sharon Stone, Kylie Minogue and London mayor Sadiq Khan watched on.
As the awards continued, there were few surprises: after the recent announcement that she’d be leading menswear for Hermes, it was fitting that Grace Wales Bonner would take home the menswear designer of the year award (for a second year) — though in absentia, as her award was collected by the British rapper Dave, who read out a heartfelt speech from the designer. Cate Blanchett then took the stage to present the womenswear award to the “divine” Sarah Burton, whose turn at Givenchy has already won over Hollywood (Burton’s designs were the choice du jour for a number of the night’s actors, from Sienna Miller, to Blanchett’s structured, suit-like gown, and Jodie Comer’s all-black leather look).
Previous Model of the Year winners Alex Consani and Paloma Elsesser gushed that they were delighted to present this year’s accolade to “our sis”, Anok Yai — who then gave a moving speech that urged the gathered crowd not to turn away from the war in Sudan (Yai is Sudanese-American). And, finally, another regular on the Fashion Awards stage Jonathan Anderson — fresh from his debut at the helm of Dior — took home the Designer of the Year award for the third year running. It was a fitting win, and a true celebration of British talent.
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