Who Will Make the Cut for the Inaugural Global Fashion Awards?

NEW YORK, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The premier Global Fashion Awards were kicked off yesterday as the world's fashion elite gathered at Sanctum Soho Hotel in London for the official launch party, where the highly-anticipated 2010 award candidates were made public. The Global Fashion Awards (www.globalfashionawards.com) is the first-ever awards program judged by the industry's very own finest to recognize and reward those businesses and individuals who are pushing the boundaries of fashion, propelling the industry forward and setting the style agenda on a global scale.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100910/NY63040 )

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100910/NY63040 )

Hosted by WGSN (www.wgsn.com), the world's leading style and trend forecaster, and supported by GfK, one of the largest market research groups in the world, the launch event included an unveiling of the coveted Global Fashion Awards trophy, specially-designed by global fashion icon John Rocha in conjunction with Waterford Crystal.

"Born in Hong Kong of Chinese and Portuguese descent, living in Ireland and showing his collection in London, John's work includes all of these influences making him the perfect embodiment of global fashion and the spirit of these awards," said Susanna Kempe, CEO of WGSN. "The award is breathtakingly beautiful and we are very grateful to John and Waterford Crystal who are producing the trophies, for their support."

The Global Fashion Award categories include 'Global Brand or Retailer,' 'Outstanding Etailer,' 'Best Design Team' and 'Most Influential Designer – Womenswear.' Guess will compete against Harvey Nichols, Karen Millen, Topshop, True Religion Brand Jeans, and Vente-privee.com for the 'Global Brand or Retailer' nod, while ASOS, Gilt Groupe, My-wardrobe.com, Net-a-Porter.com, THECORNER.com, Vente-privee.com, and Zappos will fight for recognition as 'Outstanding Etailer' at the Global Fashion Awards event on November 10, 2010 in New York City.

Shortlisted for 'Best Marketing Campaign' are De Bijenkorf, Diesel, El Palacio de Hierro, Harvey Nichols, MCD, Old Navy, Topman, Wrangler, and Warner Bros Consumer Products & Colette, and 'Best Design Team' candidates include Club Monaco, Cos, J Crew, Acne, Animale, Reiss, and Uniqlo. Alexander Wang will go head-to-head with Nicolas Ghesquiere, Christopher Bailey, Phoebe Philo, Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana, Isabel Marant, Alber Elbaz, Phillip Lim, Miuccia Prada, and Vivienne Westwood to determine 'Most Influential Designer – Womenswear.'

The finalists in each Global Fashion Awards category include:

• Global Brand or Retailer: Guess, Harvey Nichols, Karen Millen, Topshop, True Religion Brand Jeans, and Vente-privee.com
• Emerging Brand or Retailer: Atelier-Mayer.com, Bolongaro Trevor, JSFN, Lascivious, Maya Negri, Nicholas King, William Tempest, and The Loot (India)
• Outstanding Etailer: ASOS, Gilt Groupe, My-wardrobe.com, Net-a-Porter.com, THECORNER.com, Vente-privee.com, and Zappos
• Most Sustainable Brand or Retailer: Ecoist, George, People Tree, Prophetik, and Sobral
• Best Marketing Campaign: De Bijenkorf (Selmore Creative Agency), Diesel, El Palacio de Hierro, Harvey Nichols, MCD, Old Navy (Crispin Porter + Bogusky), Topman, Wrangler (VF Europe), and Warner Bros Consumer Products & Colette
• Outstanding Visual Merchandising: Harvey Nichols, Lane Crawford, Nicole Farhi, Macy's, Melissa, Nike Town - London (Millington Associates), Selfridges and Target & Liberty of London
• Outstanding Customer Experience: Farm, Les Nereides, Luisa Via Roma.com, Melissa, Net-a-Porter.com, and Zappos
• Outstanding New Store: American Eagle Outfitters, New York, USA; Levi's Flagship Store, Regent Street, London, UK (Checkland Kindleysides); Monki 3 Sea of Scallops, Oslo, Norway; New Balance, Beijing & Shanghai, China; and Topshop, Knightsbridge, London, UK; and Forever 21, Times Square, New York, USA
• Outstanding Brand Mix: Curve, La Rinascente, Liberty, Matches, NK Store, Opening Ceremony, Project No. 8, and Shopbop
• Most Influential Design Team or Retailer: Acne, Animale, Club Monaco, Cos, J Crew, Reiss, and Uniqlo
• Most Influential Designer – Womenswear: Alexander Wang; Nicolas Ghesquiere, Balenciaga; Christopher Bailey, Burberry; Phoebe Philo, Celine; Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana, Dolce & Gabbana; Isabel Marant; Alber Elbaz, Lanvin; Phillip Lim, 3.1 Phillip Lim; Miuccia Prada, Prada; and Vivienne Westwood
• Most Influential Designer – Menswear: Giorgio Armani, Armani; Italo Zucchelli, Calvin Klein; Kris Van Assche, Dior Homme; Dean & Dan Caten, DSQUARED(2); Kim Jones, Dunhill; Paul Smith; Thom Browne; and Tom Ford
• Most Influential Designer – Footwear and Accessories: Albertus Swanepoel, Frida Giannini, Gucci; Marc Jacobs; Miuccia Prada, Miu Miu; Emma Hill, Mulberry; Nicholas Kirkwood; Stefano Pilati, Yves Saint Laurent; and Jimmy Choo
• Most Innovative Digital Initiative: Dotti, FashionPlaytes, Gap (Crispin Porter + Bogusky), Oasis, Old Navy (Crispin Porter + Bogusky), and Wrangler (VF Europe)
• Most Creative Student Collection: Cora Isabel David, Kunsthochschule, WeiBensee, Germany; Alice Early, Kingston University, London; Lilly Heine, Central Saint Martins, London; Michael Kampe, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp; Natalie Rae Richardson, London College of Fashion; and David Ferron, Parsons the New School for Design

"The inaugural Global Fashion Awards have received phenomenal response from esteemed designers and organizations around the world, already making this event one of the industry's most influential and sought-after honors," added Kempe. "The quality of the entries has been humbling, the standard was so high and the competition so intense. It was extremely tough choosing the short list and our judges debated long into the night. Our commiserations to those who did not make it this year but we very much hope they will try again next year. Huge congratulations to those who did make the shortlist. It is a very high accolade indeed."

Founding Global Fashion Awards sponsors include Pantone, who is also sponsoring two unique awards including 'Pantone Special Color Award – Designer Award' and 'Pantone Special Color Award – Retailer Award'. The recipient of the first award will be a designer whose use of color sets the agenda for the season's palette time and again, with the second award earned by a private label store brand that never fails to champion color and actively encourages consumers to introduce new and exciting colors into their wardrobes each season.

"The Global Fashion Awards is a unique opportunity for our sponsors to be at the forefront of the business of fashion and network with word-class industry leaders from the Americas, Asia/Pacific and Europe," continued Kempe. "We are delighted to bring together the fashion industry's elite and share the stage with the best talent within the fashion marketplace."

Now that the shortlist has been announced, each entry will be weighed by a panel of judges made up of industry peers, representing companies such as Selfridges, Banana Republic, Harvey Nichols, Kate Spade, Saks Fifth Avenue and Vogue.com, among others. The winners for all categories, in addition to the esteemed honorees for 'Outstanding Contribution to Fashion' and 'Global Style Icon' will be announced on November 10, 2010 at a gala event at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

Each winner will receive a trophy designed by Dublin-based designer John Rocha, and icon for global fashion. In 1994, Rocha earned the prestigious title 'British Designer of the Year' and in 2002 he received a 'Commander of the British Empire' (CBE) from Her Majesty, The Queen, in recognition for his contribution to the fashion industry. The Global Fashion Awards trophy, which was also unveiled at the nominee reception, is made from Waterford Crystal.  Rocha has had his own Waterford Crystal collection since 1997.

For more information on the Global Fashion Awards, to become a sponsor or book a table for the awards gala, please visit www.GlobalFashionAwards.com.

About WGSN

WGSN is the global authority on style and design. The company identifies and analyzes current and future style trends and provides its customers with state-of-the-art online tools that that can be used to create commercially successful products and services.  WGSN defines and shapes wining style and design for over 36,000 customers globally. WGSN customers include many of the world's leading apparel, style, design and retail companies including Levi Strauss & Co., Adidas, Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products, Benetton Group, and Marks and Spencers, among others. WGSN is headquartered in London and has offices all over the world, including Milan, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, Los Angeles, Melbourne and Tokyo. For more information, visit www.wgsn.com. Follow WGSN on Twitter: @wgsn.

SOURCE WGSN