British Fashion Awards 2015: JW Anderson wins menswear and womenswear designer of the year

Jonathan “JW” Anderson scooped both menswear and womenswear designer of the year at last night's British Fashion Awards.

The old saying goes that a jack of all trades is a master of none: but don’t tell that to Jonathan “JW” Anderson, who last night scooped the two most prestigious prizes of the British Fashion Awards - menswear and womenswear designer of the year.

It’s the first time they’ve been awarded to the same recipient, which will no doubt give Anderson cause for celebration. On the one hand because he forged his name with progressive, occasionally perverse menswear (he’s designed platform shoes, ruffled skorts and boob-tubes - for him - before); on the other, because he likes to forge a path ahead of everyone else.

This duo of awards caps a stellar year for the barely 31 year-old Irish-born Anderson. His spring/summer collection was the stand-out of London fashion week, while his autumn/winter 2015 show back in February ignited an eighties redux that has influenced fellow designers and the high street. It helped, of course, that he had the chance to reiterate his point of view for the Spanish leather-house Loewe in Paris, where Anderson does double-duty as creative director. He’s one of London’s most prolific talents.

He’s also ferociously competitive, which he sees as healthy: his father is Willie Anderson, a former rugby international, and Anderson once told me that the worlds of sport and fashion aren’t so different. “Sports people are extremely competitive - to win. And in fashion, when you see someone do something brilliant it drives you to do something better… to keep outdoing yourself.”

Full list of winners:

Emerging Womenswear Designer: Thomas Tait

Emerging Menswear Designer: Grace Wales Bonner

Emerging Accessory Designer: Jordan Askill

Red Carpet: Tom Ford

Model: Jourdan Dunn

Outstanding Achievement: Karl Lagerfeld

Creative Campaign: Burberry

International Designer: Alessandro Michele for Gucci

New Establishment Designer: Mary Katrantzou

Establishment Designer: Erdem

Brand: Stella McCartney

Isabella Blow Award For Fashion Creator: Nick Knight OBE

British Style – Fashion Innovator: FKA twigs

British Style - Red Carpet Ambassador: Gwendoline Christie

Accessory Designer: Charlotte Olympia

Menswear Designer: J.W.Anderson

Womenswear Designer: J.W.Anderson