Olivia Buckingham: British Fashion Awards 2024

I was a guest of the delightful Mona Patel, an Indian entrepreneur who has become a prominent name on the best-dressed lists globally, from the Met Gala to the BFA’s. Mona Patel’s passion for haute couture and philanthropy runs deep. As the founder of Couture For Cause, she skillfully blends high fashion with social impact, raising over $500,000 for nonprofits focused on girls’ education and empowerment worldwide. Now based in New York, she continues to channel her passions into meaningful, global change. Mona wore an archival Christian Lacroix 1996 corset, sourced by Law Roach, and it is a true testament that great design is forever! “It needed a moment in the fashion world to appreciate and understand this beautiful and historic piece,” says Mona.

The Fashion Awards, hosted by Maya Jama, are the annual fundraising event hosted by the British Fashion Council, and this year, were sponsored by Pandora. A series of special awards were handed out on Monday night, with Tom Ford being honoured with the Outstanding Achievement Award, presented to him by Anna Wintour. American photographer Tyler Mitchell was the recipient of the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator. He rose to fame after shooting Beyoncé for the cover of American Vogue. I had the pleasure of styling actress Yvonne Orji in Robert Wun couture, who presented Issa Rae with the Pandora Leader of Change Award.

As a huge fan of Barbour (living in London, I don’t think there’s one person who doesn’t own one of their distinctive outerwear jackets!), I was so happy to witness Margaret Barbour receive a Special Recognition Award. Barbour has also undertaken high-profile collaborations with Erdem and Alexa Chung, who presented her with the award.

Gucci received a Special Recognition Award for the brand’s Cruise 2025 “We Will Always Have London” campaign. Debbie Harry, who featured in the campaign, also performed her iconic song “Heart of Glass” and got everyone up on their feet to dance the night away.

After a night celebrating fashion, it didn’t end at the awards—we headed off to the Dave Chappelle after-party at Chiltern Firehouse—and what happens at Chiltern stays at Chiltern.

Till next year!