Zandra Rhodes, Dunhill, Burberry and Blahnik take home top titles at Walpole Awards

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 19, 2019

The Walpole British Luxury Awards on Monday evening highlighted the importance of the luxury sector to the UK economy and hailed some of its key names for the impact they've made at home and abroad. Zandra Rhodes, Prada’s Church’s brand, Burberry, Manolo Blahnik and Dunhill were among the winners at the event in London last night.

The awards, which have include some quirky categories rather than the usual ‘best designer’ titles, saw Dame Zandra Rhodes being presented with the Legend award by fashion commentator Hilary Alexander. She won “for her 50-year career as one of the UK’s most recognisable and best-known fashion designers”. Meanwhile Burberry picked up the Luxury With A Heart prize. 

Manolo Blahnik was hailed for the best Creative Collaboration based on the Manolo Blahnik x The Wallace Collection link-up, which was a “critically acclaimed exhibition”. And Richemont’s Dunhill label was named Best British Brand overall for its “global impact in terms of sales and exposure in the last year”.

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Smythson picked up the British Luxury Overseas title, and Church’s, which trades heavily on its craft heritage, grabbed the Luxury Maker prize.

Other titles included car marque Bentley taking home the Future Legacy award; Fortnum & Mason CEO Ewan Venters named top Luxury Leader;  theatre director Josie Rourke being hailed for her Cultural Contribution; and Flowerbx winning The Brands of Tomorrow Award for Emerging Talent.

The winning group was chosen by a judging panel that included Harrods MD and Walpole chairman Michael Ward, Walpole CEO Helen Brocklebank, and Gieves & Hawkes chairman Mark Henderson, among others.

Brocklebank said all of the winners and nominees “are fired by the ambition to be the best and to make British luxury a byword for brilliance the whole world over and if tonight is anything to go by, they are succeeding”.