Derry-born designer Jonathan Anderson was named Designer of the Year at last night's Fashion Awards 2023.
Held in London's Royal Albert Hall, The Fashion Awards are an annual event that celebrates leaders of change, celebrates excellence in creativity, and supports the next generation of creative talent.
Last night's ceremony was a star-studded affair, as celebrities and designers alike showed off their best creations, including Anne Hathaway, Pamela Anderson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laura Whitmore.
At the end of the night, Anderson was announced as the Designer of the Year, which was presented by Loewe ambassador actor Josh O'Connor. Anderson - who is the creative director of both Spanish luxury label Loewe and his own label, JW Anderson - beat out Sarah Burton, Daniel Lee, Matthieu Blazy, and Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons to claim the top prize of the night.
Speaking from the stage as he accepted the award, Anderson said: "It's an amazing honour to be up here. The journey that you go through as a designer – it’s an amazing thing that we have in Britain. We support on all different levels and it’s quite scary to be up here, because you realise what an amazing place we live and how lucky we all are."
The London-based designer has had a stellar year, designing memorable outfits for Rihanna's Superbowl headlining slot, as well as multiple costumes for Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour.
Posting about the win on his Instagram, Anderson wrote: "No words. Some years are different, thank you to everyone, could not do it without you all love jonathan." The win prompted an outpouring of praise from his fellow designers, including Marc Jacobs who commented, "well deserved and true".
Irish talent was celebrated elsewhere on the night, as Irishwoman Sinead O'Dwyer was among the nominees for the BFC Foundation award, presented by actor Dan Levy, which was focused this year on Newgen recipients to mark the 30th anniversary of the emerging talent programme. The other finalists were Aaron Esh, Chet Lo, and Paolo Carzana.
