British Fashion Awards 2011

Sarah Burton, Kate Moss, Alexa Chung, Victoria Beckham, SamCam -- Paris may have couture and New York may have Marc, but it was the Brits who ruled fashion this year.Tonight in London, those names and more gathered for the annual British Fashion Awards, presented by the British Fashion Council (the UK's CFDA equivalent). There were plenty of awards to go around, given the crazy amounts of success British designers and tastemakers have had in 2011.

Sarah Burton took home the top honor as "Designer of the Year" for her work at Alexander McQueen... and, of course, on the Royal Wedding Dress.

Victoria Beckham's win for "Designer Brand of the Year" recognizing her success with her ready-to-wear, handbang and accessories collections, presented to her by Marc Jacobs. 


Accessory Designer of the Year went to Charlotte Dellal for Charlotte Olympia, a brand beloved by many celebs including Olivia Palermo. Mary Katrantzou, who won best Emerging Talent in the Womenswear category.

Stella Tennant, who got tongues wagging with an arresting Vogue Italia cover this fall, took home the Model of the Year title.

Designer of the Year: Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen
Menswear Designer of the Year: Kim Jones
Accessory Designer of the Year: Charlotte Dellal for Charlotte Olympia
Designer Brand of the Year: Victoria Beckham
Model of the Year: Stella Tennant
Emerging Talent, Womenswear: Mary Katrantzou
Emerging Talent, Menswear: Christopher Raeburn
Emerging Talent, Accessories: Tabitha Simmons
New Establishment Award: Christopher Kane
Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator: Sam Gainsbury, Gainsbury and Whiting
Red Carpet Award: Stella McCartney, presented by Kate Hudson
Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Award: Sir Paul Smith
British Style Award: Alexa Chung

Abbey Clancey

Alexa Chung

Victoria Beckham

 Stella Tennant

Poppy Delevigne

Tali Lennox

Marc Jacobs & Victoria Beckham

Laura Bailey

Susanna Lau

Kelly Brook

James Long & designer Henry Holland

Samantha Cameron & Olivia Palermo

 Tabitha Simmons & Keira Smith

Victoria Beckham

Henry Holland

British Fashion Awards 2011 Red Carpet

Designer Brand Award " Victoria Beckham "

Emerging Talent Award - Menswear " Christopher Raeburn "

Accessory Designer " Charlotte Olympia"

New Establishment " Christopher Kane "

British Style Award " Alexa Chung "

BFC Outstanding Achievement in Fashion " Paul Smith "

Emerging Talent Award - Ready-to-Wear " Mary Katrantzou "





Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator " Sam Gainsbury "

Designer of the Year " Sarah Burton "

Red Carpet Designer " Stella McCartney "

Model Of The Year " Stella Tennant "

Event Highlights Project: British Fashion Awards 2011

Royal Wedding Fashion: Kate Wears McQueen!

I'm over the moon. As I had hoped, Kate or CATHERINE Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, I should say, wore a dress by Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen! From Lady Gaga to the future Queen of England, it doesn't get any better for this designer.

"Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen’s work," Clarence House officials released in a statement.

The design includes hand-cut lace flowers hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle that incorporates rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock silhouettes. French Chanitlly lace and English Cluny lace were used in the Irish Carrickmacross needleword tradition, according to the release.

Catherine also wore an ivory silk tulle veil held in place by the Cartier ‘halo’ tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by The Queen. (more on the tiara soon).

She's Audrey Hepburn meets Princess Grace! G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!

Alexander McQueen's Royal Frock Fest

Will Kate Middleton wear an Alexander McQueen dress to the royal wedding? If the rumor mill and today's Paris Fashion Week runway show are any indication, we may have an answer to the most buzzed about fashion question since the frenzy surrounding Michelle Obama's inauguration gown.

While the guessing game will likely continue until the event unfolds on April 29th, jewelry hounds and fashion fans can marvel instead at today's incredible Alexander McQueen offering - Sarah Burton's 2nd McQueen show as creative director, after his untimely passing last year.

The event was held at the 'uplifting' venue, Conciergerie, which was the antechamber to the guillotine during the French Revolution, holding thousands of prisoners, including one Marie Antoinette. It was also the site of one of McQueen's most memorable shows, where live wolves prowled the premises.

A series of black, bondage-inspired frocks opened the proceedings, followed by an angelic display of white gowns laced with pearls and bone china (!). Needless to say, a princess would look stunning in any of these creations with a little royal-friendly tweaking.

While jewelry was a veritable no-show here (and on most of the runway shows in Paris this year), McQueen shoes more than make up for our need for the 'lower jaw drop' couture moment.

I know one Monster Queen who's gonna want to get her claws into these....