The countdown to what are often referred to as the Oscars of Fashion has officially begun. Today, the British Fashion Council has unveiled the nominees for The Fashion Awards 2026, with the ceremony set to take place on Monday 30 November at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The annual event remains one of the most significant dates in the fashion calendar, bringing together the designers and creative figures shaping the industry while raising funds for the British Fashion Council Foundation. This year, the shortlist once again places British creativity alongside some of the most influential names working internationally.
Haider Ackermann
Among the headline categories is Designer of the Year, which brings together Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row, Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent, Haider Ackermann for Tom Ford, Matthieu Blazy for Chanel, Michael Rider for Celine and Sarah Burton for Givenchy. The category recognises a British or international designer whose work has made an outstanding impact on the global fashion industry during 2026, making the shortlist a useful snapshot of the creative forces currently shaping fashion at the highest level.
Matthieu Blazy
When it comes to British menswear, this year’s nominees offer a particularly interesting cross-section of London’s fashion landscape. Foday Dumbuya for Labrum, Kiko Kostadinov, Nick Wakeman for Studio Nicholson, Simon Holloway for Dunhill and Simone Rocha have been nominated for British Menswear Designer of the Year. The category brings together distinctly different approaches to menswear, from Labrum’s dialogue with West African heritage and British identity to Kostadinov’s experimental language and Studio Nicholson’s considered approach to everyday clothing. Dunhill, meanwhile, continues its evolution under Holloway, while Rocha’s nomination reflects the designer’s increasingly expansive approach to menswear.
Foday Dumbuya
In British womenswear, the nominees are Clare Waight Keller for Uniqlo, Erdem Moralıoğlu for Erdem, Louise Trotter for Bottega Veneta, Sarah Burton for Givenchy and Simone Rocha. Trotter’s inclusion is particularly notable following her second collection for Bottega Veneta, while Burton appears in both the Designer of the Year and British Womenswear Designer categories. The overlap illustrates how the awards recognise both individual creative direction and the wider influence designers exert through their respective houses.
Conner Ives
Vanguard, meanwhile, turns the spotlight towards the next generation, recognising designers positioned at the forefront of a new wave in British fashion. This year’s nominees are Conner Ives, Ellie Misner, Steve O Smith and Tolu Coker. Their inclusion underlines the role The Fashion Awards continue to play in bringing emerging voices into the wider conversation around British fashion, alongside more established names and international creative directors.
For now, the winners remain a question for November. What has already been established is the breadth of this year’s conversation: established houses, independent labels, British menswear, emerging talent and designers leading some of the world’s most important fashion brands all find themselves within the same framework. With the ceremony returning to the Royal Albert Hall on 30 November, the next chapter of the 2026 fashion calendar is already taking shape — and London is once again preparing for one of its biggest nights.
