Marc Newson creates trophy for 2016 Fashion Awards

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Nov 3, 2016

The British Fashion Council and Swarovski have commissioned Australian industrial designer Marc Newson to create a bespoke crystal trophy for this year’s Fashion Awards which will be held on 5 December in London.

Newson has been described as one of the most influential designers of his generation, receiving recognition for his work across a wide range of disciplines. In 2005 he was selected as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and his work is present in many major museum collections, including the MoMA in New York, London’s Design Museum, the V&A, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Vitra Design Museum in Germany.

For The Fashion Awards 2016 in partnership with Swarovski, the designer drew inspiration from crystal clusters and rock structures to create a hexagonal design crafted from Swarovski Crystal.

All trophies will be handcrafted at Swarovski’s headquarters in Wattens, Austria and will complete an 800 mile journey from there to the Royal Albert Hall, where the award ceremony will be held.

Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Swarovski Executive Board, commented: “Marc's innovative crystal design concept is a fitting tribute to the global creative talent we are celebrating this year.”

“I was delighted to be asked to design this trophy. Swarovski crystal is a fantastic material to work with, and I am happy with the striking visual effect that has been created from the reflections of each individual trophy when set together,” commented Marc Newson CBE.

This year’s Fashion Awards will be the inaugural annual fundraiser gala for the British Fashion Council Education Foundation charity. The BFC hopes to raise £10million over the next ten years for the charity which offers scholarships to talented young designers to study BAs and MAs and offers funding for apprenticeships.