This weekend’s Scottish Style Awards honored the smartly dressed stars who spent 2008 earning Scotland a more fashionable place on the map.
Singer/actress Shirley Manson, Harper’s Bazaar editrix Lucy Yeomans, and fashion designer Deryk Walker were just some of the high profile Scots to receive awards Friday night in Glasgow. Among the VIP attendees were controversial artists Tracey Emin and Douglas Gordon, as well as musician Jon Fratelli (of The Fratellis).
As many mistakenly see Scotland as a country antonymous with “style”, the Style Awards aim to trounce the myth that the Scottish always place function over fashion.
Awards’ founder Mary McGowne explained that the chic celebrity winners were honored based on “their longevity and individuality, and for presenting a positive image of Scotland to the world.”
McGowne had high praise for Shirley Manson, who won Most Stylish Female:
“Throughout her dazzling career, [she] has always remained her authentic, individual and potent sense of style. She is very much her own person, confident in her own skin and her own personality, and that exudes style. Twenty-five years down the line, she is now one of the biggest television stars in America.”
Fellow Scottish singer Sharleen Spiteri won Most Stylish Musician, while director Richard Jobson won Most Fashionable Male.
Jobson impressed judges because “he has maintained this cool credibility throughout his career – from being an art punk through a diverse career in television and now in film.”
Scotland has fostered an undeniable yet underrated group of fashion tastemakers, with Jonathan Saunders serving as a notable recent example. This time, Deryk Walker won Fashion Designer of the Year. Walker has designed for Boudicca, Versace, and created a line of men’s suits for Comme des Garçons. Lucy Yeomans, the editor of Harper’s Bazaar, fittingly won the Tastemaker of the Year prize.
Achievements in Scottish fashion retail did not go unnoticed: Glaswegian boutique Che Camille won Best Boutique, as it is “unlike anything that has ever existed in Scotland”.
The Scottish Style Awards have quickly progressed from cultish ceremony to annual pop culture tradition. We can’t wait to see whom they honor next year –we are sure that Annie Lennox and Sean Connery will receive lifetime achievement awards sooner or later.
Who is YOUR favorite Scottish style star?
