WALES BONNER wins Independent British Brand Award 2022

Grace Wales Bonner, Burna Boy and Yasmin Finney Photography by Joyce NG

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Wales Bonner is the proud winner of the Independent British Brand Award at the 2022 British Fashion Awards.

I am really honoured to be included in this category. It is wonderful to see the BFC is recognising the work of independent designers in this way.To be acknowledged in this line up means so much to me and our team, it’s wonderful and really encouraging. Wales Bonner has always been about bringing an Afro Atlantic perspective to British or European Luxury and this is what we have been working towards since 2015 when I first established the brand.

Grace Wales Bonner

Wales Bonner proposes a distinct notion of cultural luxury that infuses European heritage with an Afro Atlantic spirit.

Launched by Grace Wales Bonner following her graduation from Central Saint Martins in 2014, the label is informed by broad cultural research and embraces a multiplicity of perspectives. Established as a menswear brand, Wales Bonner’s soulful tailoring soon expanded to womenswear. Grace Wales Bonner has received numerous awards including Emerging Menswear Designer at the British Fashion Awards (2015), the LVMH Young Designer Prize (2016), Winner of the British Fashion Council/ Vogue Designer Fashion Fund (2019) and CFDA International Men’s Designer of theYear (2021).

In 2019, Grace was invited by Maria Grazia Chiuri to collaborate with Dior to re-interpret the house’s New Look silhouette for its Resort 2020 collection. In the same year, she curated an institutional exhibition, A Time for New Dreams, at Serpentine Galleries, London.Grace is Head of the Department of Fashion Design at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna.

Wales Bonner stockists include Matchesfashion.com, Selfridges, Net-a-Porter, Mr. Porter, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks 5th Avenue, Nordstrom, Dover Street Market International and Boon the Shop.

walesbonner.net

The ceremony is the primary fundraiser organised by the British Fashion Council, and the Independent British Brand award is given to a British designer whose independent business has made the most notable impact on the fashion industry over the past 12 months.

The 2022 Fashion Awards took place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where adidas Originals and Wales Bonner were pleased to host collaborators including stylist Tom Guinness, photographer Liz Johnson Artur, and models Dennis Okwera, Jonas Gloer and Selena Forrest. Other special guests included artist Akeem Smith, singer Cat Burns, and the Chief Executive & Fashion Director of Tank Magazine Caroline Issa. Alongside the honoured guests dressed in Wales Bonner, co-founder of Dazed Media Jefferson Hack also wore a bespoke suit and hand-crafted jewellery to accept the Special Recognition Award for Cultural Curation.

Later,

Diane

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Diane Pernet

A LEGENDARY FIGURE IN FASHION and a pioneer of blogging, Diane is a respected journalist, critic, curator and talent-hunter based in Paris. During her prolific career, she designed her own successful brand in New York, costume designer, photographer, and filmmaker.