Scottish Fashion Awards: Celebrating Scottish Fashion

Now a firm fixture on the fashion calendar, The Scottish Fashion Awards return in September to celebrate the nation's style, design and fabrication industries

Preview by Fern Logue | 08 Aug 2014

‏Annual fashion extravaganza The Scottish Fashion Awards is back for its ninth year with an exciting list of nominees, celebrating the success of industry insiders, designers, brands and models from both Scotland and the rest of the world. Having moved south of the border for the first time last year, the awards ceremony will once again be hosted in what awards founder Dr. Tessa Hartmann refers to as, the "epicentre of British fashion," London.  The event will be co-hosted by Hartmann alongside the Secretary of State for Scotland, Alistair Carmichael with the glamorous awards presentation hosted by Laura Whitmore.

‏The Scottish Fashion Awards demonstrates Scotland's wealth of fashion and design talent encompassing supermodels, fashion communicators and designers who are making waves not only in Scotland but also on the world stage. This was perhaps a contributing factor in the ceremony's move to London last year, with the setting of one of the fashion capitals of the world being indicative of the ambition and drive of many of the nominees. Nominee in the Scottish Accessory Designer of the Year category, Jane Gowans echoes this, saying of the awards, "They are aiding the connectivity between Scotland and the wider fashion world, allowing me to work from Dundee whilst raising the brand's profile across the UK."  The event is clearly as much about introducing the future of fashion in Scotland to a wider global audience as celebrating the continued success of the established nominees, as is particularly evidenced by the inclusion of categories such as Scottish Young Designer of the Year and Scottish Fashion Graduate of the Year.

‏Once again the spotlight will be on the work of the nation, as Scotland's fashion stars take over London. This year's ceremony includes fifteen hotly contested categories which will be judged by an esteemed panel of judges, influential across the whole fashion industry – including Paisley-born photographer Rankin, Editor-in-Chief of Marie Claire, Trish Halpin, and Deputy Editor and Head of Fashion at The Sunday Times, Claudia Croft, amongst a host of other impressive international editors, journalists, and leading figures of the fashion industry.  

‏The fifteen categories include nods towards not only Scottish born and established brands, designers and figures but also designers who have been inspired by the country or whose collections have included textiles sourced from Scotland. The International Designer of the Year category – which this year includes nominees Simone Rocha, Vivienne Westwood, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Maison Martin Margiela and Mulberry – highlights the incredible influence of Scotland on the world of fashion. One of the nominees for the Scottish Textile Designer/Brand of the Year award is ten30 and the brand's founder, director and designer, Alan Moore, is humbled by his nomination after a busy year of hard work and pop-up shops. For Moore, "The cherry on the cake would be to win, but to be nominated is great and I'm sure I'll enjoy a glass of fizz whatever the result." Other categories include Scottish Model of the Year, with nominees such as Mary Charteris and Christopher Millington who have both enjoyed global success. The Young Scottish Designer of the Year category with its nominees Deetz, Mairi MacDonald, Hayley Scanlan, Saunt & Sinner and Rachel McMillan will surely also be a coveted award. 

‏One of the most important events of the fashion calendar, the ceremony really brings together the Scottish fashion community. Ann Russell, the freelance writer and stylist behind Frock Trade told us, "As a freelance writer, blogger and fashion stylist... I'm able to interact with a brilliant community of designers, retailers and fellow creatives on a daily basis. I'm looking forward to celebrating our collective achievements at the awards ceremony." 

‏There will also be a series of special awards on the night including the Founder's Award, Fashion Ambassador, Fashion Icon and Hall of Fame. The full list of categories, nominees and judges can be found on the Scottish Fashion Awards website.

Scottish Fashion Awards, 8 Northumberland, London, 1 Sep http://scottishfashionawards.com