Los Angeles received a deluge of British fashion design eloquence as the pinnacle of BritWeeks final evcocluded with the 2nd annual Christopher Guy Design Awards held on May 5th, 2012.  BritWeek is an annual event held from April to May in Los Angeles and Orange Counties to celebrate British ties to California.

The award ceremony was held in conjunction with the grand opening of the world-renowned luxury furnishings brand Christopher Guy West Hollywood flagship store known as, “Creators of the World’s Most Fabulous Furnishings.” Architectural Digest Magazine and Jaguar sponsored the grand opening celebration.

The competition is a phenomenal career-launching opportunity for California design students entering the often-impenetrable world of haute couture.  Participants of the challenge were invited to design a furnishing or decorative accent piece based on remarkable creations of Phillip Treacy, the celebrated haute couture hat designer, well known for his collaborations with famed design houses as well as his exclusive commissions for the Royal Family.    

“It’s fabulous to be opening this very special showroom in Los Angeles, especially coinciding with BritWeek,” said Christopher Guy. “This year we shall be honoring Philip Treacy for his services to the British design industry, as well as presenting California design school students who entered our competition with trips to visit a prestigious design show in Europe and my Singapore design offices,” he added.

Guests of the celebratory soiree were greeted with breath taking design show room elements inspired by the creative collaboration between Christopher Guy and Phillip Treacy.  From the imported Murano spiked chandeliers taking

design element cues to the Camilla mirror (Inspired by Camilla Parker Bowles “The Duchess of Cornwall” wedding hat) hanging over the open ice bar, (flush with complimentary flutes of Veuve Clicquot), not a pin drop of detail was to be missed by the most discerning of fashion guests in attendance. 

Ten schools entered the prestigious challenge to incorporate haute couture and luxury living resulting in tie for second place by Rana Desar of UCLA and Patrice Yagen of the Academy of Art.  First place honors were awarded to Karolina Kurek from the Otis Parsons School of Design.  Unfortunately, in order to protect the design houses exclusive rights to the winning designs, at the time fn the winning announcement students creations were not available for release.

The celebration wrapped up with an impromptu runway of Phillip Treacy’s most iconic hat pieces showcased on the backdrop of Christopher Guy’s masterful home furnishings.  It was an evening of synergistic fashion collaboration celebrating a cross continental partnership of creative design innovation and inspiring the future of fashion.    

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