Fashion Awards 2025 -Blue Carpets, Winter Winds, and the Pulse of London Style
- PARLIAMENT NEWS
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
The Peninsula London was already wrapped in Christmas light when we arrived—white garlands climbing the pillars, gold threaded through the air. December always brings a kind of soft magic to the city, but last Monday night it felt heightened, almost cinematic. Celebrities moved through the lobby with their usual unhurried grace; faces I’ve seen for years, others fresh, all glittering with the anticipation that The Fashion Awards somehow conjures every season.
This year marked my twelfth time attending, and still, the night felt new. Perhaps because I spent it alongside Sprayground, a brand that has long fascinated me—not for its noise, but for its philosophy. London is a place that rewards originality and punishes imitation. Sprayground, in that sense, feels made for this city. Their work is provocative without being loud, inventive without seeking applause. They treat design as language, not spectacle. And in an industry built on fleeting seasons, they build constellations that last.
Sprayground’s story began with the designer known simply as DBD, whose first creation—Hello My Name Is—became something more than a backpack. Over the last thirteen years, it has become a symbol: of rebellion, of individuality, of a new way of imagining the objects we carry every day.
The evening itself was choreographed with remarkable finesse thanks to LAL London Productions, led by Lara Accison, whose influence in the fashion world remains as sharp as when I first met her in Monaco fifteen years ago. Few people understand the emotional rhythm of an event as she does. Working in tandem on this activation was Natalia Cassel of Cassel Consultancy, a strategist with a talent for making even the most complex brief look effortless.
As we waited at The Peninsula for our cars, the night gave us a gust of cold wind and a slight drizzle—London reminding us of its temperament. Then the long, sleek line of Rolls Royce and Maserati vehicles from HR Owen Official arrived. Their presence always marks a threshold: the moment when the evening stops being anticipation and becomes experience.
The approach to the Royal Albert Hall was its own spectacle—paparazzi lights flashing like restless stars, celebrities threading their way through London’s winter pulse. The carpet was blue this year, vast and welcoming, and the drizzle stopped the instant my heels touched it. It was the kind of moment that feels orchestrated even when it isn’t.
Inside, the Royal Albert Hall vibrated with energy. 5,300 guests, sold out, and nearly 800 VIPs—designers, icons, innovators, writers, athletes, and musicians—gathered under its great dome. The British Fashion Council announced that The Fashion Awards 2025 presented by Pandora raised £1 million for the BFC Foundation, a milestone in supporting the next wave of British creative talent.
Our box held a remarkable mix of talent and character, each adding their own spark to the rhythm of the evening. Sadie Stone of HR Owen Official anchored the group with her warmth; Krept — Casyo Johnson — and Karl Wilson, the acclaimed British hip-hop duo, brought a pulse of cool, unforced energy; and Hoda Davaine, the celebrated Getty photographer, observed the room with the quiet precision of someone who has captured half the world through her lens. Lara Accison, CEO and Founder of LAL London Productions, and Natalia Cassel, CEO of Cassel Consultancy, were the strategic minds whose work shaped so much of the night’s momentum. Susie Lethbridge, journalist for The Times, offered the sharp wit only years in newsrooms can hone, while Josh Ryan and Megan Hana McLoughlin—dynamic forces in the digital space—captured the spirit of the night with modern ease. Stephanie Takyi, journalist for The Daily Mail, and Lady Maddison May Brudenell Kapetanov added elegance and insight in equal measure.
And there I was among them—Rebeca Riofrio, Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Society for Arts, Fashion & Sports UK, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Parliament News Magazine, sharing an evening of warm conversation, easy laughter, and an atmosphere glowing brighter than the stage itself.
Across the hall, Colman Domingo guided the ceremony with charisma. Celia Imrie opened the show. Cate Blanchett, Sharon Stone, Iman, Raye, Little Simz, Kylie Minogue, Anok Yai, and so many others moved across the stage and carpet, each draped in the artistry of the world’s greatest designers. There were surprises—pregnancy announcements by Ellie Goulding and Sienna Miller—tributes, moments of reverence for the late Melanie Ward, and musical performances that held the room in perfect stillness.
When I looked around, I realised why I return year after year: for these moments when fashion becomes more than image. More than garment. It becomes culture. It becomes community. It becomes history written in fabric, talent, and risk.
The night ended as beautifully as it began. I was dressed by the remarkable Micaela Oliveira Atelier, and my evening was captured through the thoughtful lens of Kam Murali. As we stepped back into the London night, blue carpet behind us and Christmas lights ahead, I felt the same quiet gratitude I’ve felt every year—a reminder that creativity is one of the few languages capable of uniting us all.
And London, in its winter brilliance, remains the perfect place to speak it.
The Fashion Awards 2025 presented by Pandora transformed the Royal Albert Hall into a global stage for creativity, welcoming 5,300 guests and raising an unprecedented £1 million for the BFC Foundation. Supported by distinguished partners including eBay and The Peninsula London, the event celebrated the visionaries shaping fashion’s future and reinforced the British Fashion Council’s mission to champion innovation, inclusivity and talent development across the UK’s creative industries.
PICTURES COURTESY BRITISH FASHIO COUNCIL BFC // GETTY // KAM MURALI //WWD MATTCROSSICK
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