The British Fashion Awards gets a MET Gala style makeover

The annual British Fashion Awards is upping its game...

Already getting excited about next week’s gloriously glamorous MET Gala? Well good news - the annual British Fashion Awards is upping its game, with the British Fashion Council today announcing that they aim to host a bigger and better celebration than ever before.

Like the hugely successful MET Ball in New York, The Fashion Awards 2016 will now be a fundraising black tie event, open for both the industry and the public to buy tickets for. The aim of the new format is to raise enough funds over the next decade to create and support new scholarships for students attending British fashion colleges - all via the British Fashion Council Education Foundation charity.

Partnering with Swarovski, the BFC will still hand out awards on the night, celebrating the greatest talents – from designers, to models, to journalists - operating in the UK. Previous winners have included stars from Stella McCartney to Alexa Chung.

Taking place on Monday 5th December 2016 at the Royal Albert Hall, there’s no word yet on what price the public tickets will cost (although if they’re anything like the super-exclusive MET Gala, they could stretch into tens of thousands).

‘As a global industry we should make a commitment to support talented people from all backgrounds to fulfil their dreams and access the best universities in the world,’ Dame Natalie Massenet, BFC Chairman, said of the initiative. ’Over the next ten years our ambition is to raise and invest £10million to support young people in this goal. London is seen as the capital for the most creative new talent in the world that provides talent and energy for the global fashion industry.’

‘Supporting emerging talent and celebrating creativity is in Swarovski’s DNA, so we are delighted to partner again with the BFC on the Fashion Awards,’ added Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Swarovski Executive Board. ‘[This is] not only celebrating the most creative expression in fashion on a global scale, but also raising funds for education in fashion.’