The British Fashion Awards is undoubtedly the biggest fashion event in the British social calendar; think of it as our version of the Met Gala. Pulling in some of the biggest names in the industry such as the Beckhams, the Hadids and the Jenners, last year’s British Fashion Awards even saw a pregnant Meghan Markle take to the stage. The Duchess of Sussex awarded designer, Clare Waight Keller – the woman behind her wedding dress – with thBritish Designer of the Year – Womenswear award for her work at Givenchy.

Despite working towards a more diverse range of nominees, year after year it has been household names such as Gucci, Prada and Dior that have flooded the nominations and taken home the biggest prizes. That is until this year… 

This morning the nominations for the British Fashion Awards 2019 – taking place on 2 December at the Royal Albert Hall – were announced and there are some definite curve balls in the mix.

Of course those big brands mentioned above are once again in the running (who can deny them this when their sales are through the roof and their collection are adored season after season), however alongside them are more female nominations and some exciting newcomers.

For the first time, Bottega Veneta has been nominated for Brand of the Year as well the creative director, Daniel Lee also being up for Accessories Designer of the Year. This is thanks in part to his dumpling-like bag, The Pouch (Rihanna is a big fan of these) that was seen on every fashion insider during the September shows. Before Lee came to Bottega, the brand had never been nominated for such an award and his short reign at the house has turned the brand into one of the most desirable names in fashion. 

Up against Lee for Accessories Designer and Brand of the Year is Simon Porte Jacquemus, the man behind those tiny viral handbags and that pink runway in the middle of a lavender field in Provence this summer. Like Bottega, Jacquemus has found its footing with the fashion insiders – creating incredibly wearable pieces that are drenched in personality.

Similarly there are some new faces in the Model of the Year category – which has been hailed as the most diverse lineup yet – including recent Stylist cover girl, Adesuwa Aighewi. Joining Adesuwa in this line up is fellow nominees Adut Akech, Adwoa Aboah and Kaia Gerber. 

And the last curve balls comes to the Urban Luxe category. This category has previously been dominated by men and with brands that are generally aimed at a male customer base like Supreme, Palace and Off-White. For 2019 the nominees in this category read much like a list of the coolest women in fashion, including Fenty (the first time Rihanna has been nominated for her standalone collection), Marine Serre and Martine Rose.

With all this welcome change and exciting newness, this is certainly not a British Fashion Awards to be missed. 

Here’s a full list of the nominees for the night that were decided upon by a global voting panel of 2,500 key members of the industry. 

Accessories Designer of the Year

Alessandro Michele for Gucci

Daniel Lee for Bottega Veneta

Jonathan Anderson for Loewe

Kim Jones for Dior Men

Simon Porte Jacquemus for Jacquemus

Brand of the Year 

Bottega Veneta

Gucci

Jacquemus

Loewe

Prada

British Designer of the Year Menswear 

Craig Green for Craig Green

Grace Wales Bonner for Wales Bonner

Kim Jones for Dior Men

Martine Rose for Martine Rose

Riccardo Tisci for Burberry

British Designer of the Year Womenswear 

Daniel Lee for Bottega Veneta

John Galliano for Maison Margiela

Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson & Loewe

Richard Quinn for Richard Quinn

Simone Rocha for Simone Rocha

British Emerging Talent Menswear

Ben Cottrell and Matthew Dainty for Cottweiler

Bethany Williams for Bethany Williams

Kiko Kostadinov for Kiko Kostadinov

Phoebe English for Phoebe English

Sofia Prantera for Aries

British Emerging Talent Womenswear

Laura and Deanna Fanning for Kiko Kostadinov

Matty Bovan for Matty Bovan

Phoebe English for Phoebe English

Rejina Pyo for Rejina Pyo

Rosh Mahtani for Alighieri

Business Leader

Alexandre Arnault for Rimowa

José Neves for Farfetch

Marco Bizzarri for Gucci

Marco Gobbetti for Burberry

Remo Ruffini for Moncler

Designer of the Year

Alessandro Michele for Gucci

Daniel Lee for Bottega Veneta

Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson & Loewe

Kim Jones for Dior Men

Miuccia Prada for Prada

Model of the Year

Adesuwa Aighewi

Adut Akech

Adwoa Aboah

Kaia Gerber

Winnie Harlow

Urban Luxe

Alyx

Fenty

Marine Serre

Martine Rose

Moncler Genius

Images: Getty