Irish Fashion Stars Nominated for BFC Awards

Here’s your Thursday dose of pride. Yesterday the British Fashion Council announced that Irish fashion talents Simone Rocha and J.W. Anderson were among the nominees for their annual awards honouring the best in the industry.

Simone Rocha A/W 14

Simone Rocha, a Ranelagh native, is nominated in the New Established Designer category alongside Emilia Wickstead and Peter Pilotto. Earlier this year Rocha missed out on the LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize which came with a €300,000 business investment. Thomas Tait won the LVMH Prize and is nominated in the BFC’s Emerging Womenswear Designer category.

J.W. Anderson S/S 15

J.W. Anderson was born in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland and goes up against heavy hitters Erdem and Christopher Kane for Womenswear Designer. Anderson is also nominated for Menswear Designer – competition in that category is Christopher Bailey for Burberry, Paul Smith and Tom Ford. Such exalted company really signals how established and regarded Anderson has become these past few years. Last year he won the New Establishment Award, and the year before that he nabbed the Emerging Talent Award. We can’t think of a more deserving mantelpiece.

Two other categories catching our eye are Brand and Model. Alexander McQueen will be vying with Stella McCartney and Victoria Beckham for the former honour while best instagram pals Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn will be facing off each other and Sam Rollinson. Anyone willing to place some bets?

The awards ceremony will take place December 1 at the London Coliseum. Check out the full list of nominees below.

Emerging Womenswear Designer
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Marques?Almeida
Thomas Tait

Emerging Menswear Designer
Astrid Andersen
Craig Green
Lee Roach

Emerging Accessory Designer
Fernando Jorge
Prism
Yunus & Eliza

New Establishment Designer
Emilia Wickstead
Peter Pilotto
Simone Rocha

Establishment Designer
Margaret Howell
Preen
Roland Mouret

Womenswear Designer
Christopher Kane
Erdem
J.W. Anderson

Menswear Designer
Christopher Bailey for Burberry
J.W. Anderson
Paul Smith
Tom Ford

Accessory Designer
Anya Hindmarch
Charlotte Olympia
Nicholas Kirkwood

International Designer
Hedi Slimane for Saint Laurent
Nicolas Ghesqui’re for Louis Vuitton
Raf Simons

Red Carpet Designer
Alexander McQueen
Mary Katrantzou
Roksanda

Brand
Alexander McQueen
Stella McCartney
Victoria Beckham

Model
Cara Delevingne
Jourdan Dunn
Sam Rollinson

Creative Campaign
Lanvin
Louis Vuitton
Vivienne Westwood

Follow Jeanne Sutton on Twitter @jeannedesutun