LIFE OF LUXURY: Matchesfashion.com, House of Hackney, Farfetch and Gucci were among the winners of the 16th annual Walpole British Luxury Awards, hosted by Catherine Zeta-Jones at The Dorchester in London on Monday night.
Matchesfashion.com scooped the award for British Luxury Brand of the Year, while House of Hackney and Aurelia Probiotic Skincare were among the names that received the Brands of Tomorrow award for Emerging Talent.
Chatsworth and Gucci also won accolades, the former for Cultural Experience and the latter for International Luxury Brand of the Year. It wasn’t the first time that the two names were linked in 2017: Gucci was the sponsor of “House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth,” a wide-ranging exhibition that ran from March until October at the famous stately in Derbyshire.
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Knitwear maker Johnstons of Elgin won for Commitment to British Manufacturing, while Farfetch scooped the Digital prize.
Kingsman and Mr Porter won the Innovation and Creativity award. Earlier this year, the online retailer came out with its second costume-to-collection collaboration with Matthew Vaughn and his “Kingsman” film franchise.
Other British brands also had their moment in the spotlight, with Bentley winning for Luxury Maker of the Year; Glenmorangie for Luxury with a Heart, and Jaguar Land Rover for Export Excellence.
“The brands and individuals we celebrate tonight add to the cultural and economic richness of the British Isles through regional job creation, the simultaneous preservation of, and innovation in, making and manufacturing skills; a strong focus on export and, of course, their overriding creativity, artistry and passion,” said Walpole’s chief executive officer Helen Brocklebank.
Judges included Michael Ward, the managing director of Harrods and Walpole’s chairman; Hannah Rothschild, chair of The National Gallery’s Board of Trustees, and Marcus Wareing, the Michelin-starred chef.
Walpole is Britain’s luxury industry alliance, similar to Italy’s Altagamma and France’s Comité Colbert. In addition to lobbying for British-made goods internationally, it runs mentoring programs including Brands of Tomorrow, Crafted and the Programme in Luxury Management at London Business School.