Pierpaolo Piccioli triumphs for Valentino at the fashion Oscars in London during British Fashion Awards 2022
Designer of the year
As per tradition, a very important and unmissable event was held at the Royal Albert Hall in the English capital which every year involves the most important protagonists of the high fashion sector to raise funds with which the BFC Foundation, the British Fashion Council or the Chamber of English fashion, subsidizes scholarships and tutoring activities to support emerging talents and celebrates the impact of creativity in the dynamics of social evolution. On this important occasion, we are talking about the British Fashion Awards 2022, the fashion Oscars, Italian fashion has triumphed. Indeed, it was Pierpaolo Piccioli, creative director of the Valentino maison, who was awarded the Designer of the Year Award for the second time. In fact, the designer had already won the same award in 2018. Pierpaolo Piccioli wanted the people closest to him by his side at the Royal Albert Hall in London: his wife Simona Caggia, their three children, Benedetta, Stella and Pietro, the closest collaborators close and his muses, from the actress Florence Pugh, who personally presented the award, to the eternal top model Naomi Campbell. “A pain shared is a pain halved. Joy shared is joy doubled…Thank you to everyone who made this possible…This win belongs to me as much as it belongs to every single person who works at Maison Valentino, not just because everyone has been supportive in every way possible, but because their passion and dedication inspire me more than they could ever imagine. This win reminds us that, in the age of realism, we want to face reality even when it’s tough, and that we want to drive positive change through the power of beauty. With fashion and thanks to fashion, we can create a world where beauty can mirror all beauties, where we have the privilege and opportunity to shape a welcoming environment for creativity – and he added again – Fashion is a powerful language, and with this power also comes a great responsibility because what we do with our work is a reflection of our values and a manifesto of our will. Fashion can also be a radical, conscious and political act of rebellion, and I like that… Tonight, I feel grateful, creativity wins. Our value wins. This victory belongs to me as much as to all those who work for Valentino – in the conclusion there is also a quote from Pier Paolo Pasolini – we don’t want to be so dreamless right away”. His victory is also confirmed by the numbers: Piccioli is at the helm of Valentino until 2009 and as we read in The Guardian, in 2021 Valentino’s sales increased by 41% with revenues of 1.36 billion euros, 3% more compared to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019 and the award-winning designer has also been recognized for the ability to bring the famous Italian brand into dialogue with generation Z which is notoriously considered a highly coveted demographic by the luxury market. In such an event, only other awards could be missing, let’s discover together all the awards of the British Fashion Awards 2022: Designer of the Year: Pierpaolo Piccioli, Valentino; Special Recognition Award for Cultural Curation: Jefferson Hack; Model of the Year: Bella Hadid; Independent British Brand: Wales Bonner; BFC Foundation Award: SS Daley; Fashion Award for Metaverse Design: Burberry; Outstanding Achievement Award: Patagonia; Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator: Katie Grand; Environment Leaders of Change: Gabriela Hearst, Bethany Williams, Conner Ives, Priya Ahluwalia and Marine Serre; People Leaders of Change: Aurora James, Harry Lambert, Sinéad Burke, Rafael Pavarotti and Julie Pelipas; Creativity Leaders of Change: Alessandro Michele, Daniel Roseberry, Harris Reed, Ib Kamara and Raf Simons.
