John Pawson designs this year’s Fashion Awards trophy

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Nov 1, 2017

The British Fashion Council and Swarovski have unveiled the crystal trophy that will be given to the 2017 winners of The Fashion Awards on 4 December at the Royal Albert Hall.

Created by British architectural designer John Pawson, the trophy features a minimalist crystal cylinder encasing a lacquer ‘thread’ through its centre. The ‘thread’ is magnified viewed from above, as its slanted top creates a convex lens.

To "celebrate diversity", each winner will be given a trophy containing a different coloured ‘thread’. The pieces were made by hand by Swarovski’s cutters at the company’s HQ in Austria.

Pawson said the trophy is "a symbolic memento of the night so I wanted to create something special that would be both a beautiful object in its own right and a fitting tribute to the achievements of this year’s winners. The inherent qualities of Swarovski crystal enhance the simplicity of the cylindrical form and coloured thread, producing a celebratory play of light and colour.”

Dame Natalie Massenet, Chairman of the British Fashion Council added that Pawson "is one of the most celebrated architectural designers of his generation and his trophy reflects both his aesthetic and our vision for The Fashion Awards.”

This is the second time the organisation has collaborated with Swarovski on the trophy. Last year, the trophies were the work of industrial designer Marc Newson.