On a Thursday evening in early November, over 100 independent fashion retail insiders gathered inside London’s May Fair Hotel for the fourth annual Boutique Star Awards. Brand founders, designers, boutique teams, agents and PRs, sipped on prosecco and festive mocktails while discussing the trials and tribulations of past 12 months in retail. Yet, despite the challenging economic backdrop (and previous day’s shock US election result), the joy and excitement in the room was palpable.  

 

After unveiling the chandelier-adorned Crystal Room in dramatic fashion, attendees sat down to a three-course dinner of grilled halloumi salad, roast chicken and mini desserts. Boutique magazine publisher Julie Neill set the tone of the evening with her opening speech thanking category sponsors AIS/ INDX, Bira and City Goddess for supporting the awards. She also congratulated all the finalists and spoke of how overwhelmed the team had been by the high standard of entries: “This awards evening allows us to celebrate our industry together,” she said. “This is not only our livelihoods, but more importantly, our passion too.”

 

Following dinner, television presenter Hayley Sparkes took to the stage to host the awards ceremony. Now her fourth time as compère for the event, she reflected on all the changes in retail over the past few years and said the awards were an important way to honour the resilience and determination of the people in the industry. “Each of you has a unique story of passion and courage,” she said. “Behind every business there are hours of hard work and endless perseverance. And that’s why we’re celebrating all of you here tonight.”

 

Derbyshire indie Henmores, part of the Young Ideas group, was announced as winner of the evening’s first award: Store Design of the Year. Fashion agent Diane Sykes presented the trophy to owner Anne Wright and sales manager Paula Preston, who said they were truly honoured to receive the accolade. London womenswear group Ediit was also presented with a highly commended award after impressing the judges with its beautiful Islington-based boutique. Next, it was the turn of Danish family-owned brand Lofina, which was presented with the Footwear Brand of the Year trophy by James Crabtree, head of fashion at AIS/INDX.

 

Whitchurch-based lifestyle store Moo and Boom was then announced as the winner of Sustainability Advocate of the Year while Leafy Green in Scotland’s Strathaven was named highly commended. Next, Bira CEO Andrew Goodacre presented Oldstrom founder Caroline Ekström with the trophy for Fashion Agency of the Year. Norfolk boutique Artichoke was also revealed as 2024’s winner of Social Media Strategy of the Year, with founder Sarah Simonds making a heartfelt speech thanking her team.

 

Swedish-based jewellery brand Edblad was then announced as Jewellery and Watch Brand of the Year, received on its behalf by UK agent Oldstrom. New York based designer Samantha Siu, who flew in especially for event, was also awarded with highly commended recognition thanks to her beautiful customisable designs.

 

Next, Bira’s Andrew Goodacre returned to the stage to present Young Ideas with the winning trophy for new award category Independent Employer of the Year. Judge and Resilient Retail Club founder Catherine Erdly then announced Fee G, first created by Fiona Heaney in Dublin over 20 years ago, as Female Founded Brand of the Year 2024.  

 

Announcing the first special award winner of the evening was Renes Fashion’s Tiffany Moore. As last year’s recipient, she was asked to present the Outstanding Business trophy to winner City Goddess, which was acknowledged for its buying innovations and commitment to supporting indie retailers.

 

Founder Kuganeswaran Thangarajah (Mr Kugan) then returned to the stage to present the trophy to this year’s New Independent of the Year winner. This had been a particularly strong category this year attracting entries from a range of inspiring new retail start-ups. Judges chose Cheshire retailer Wardrobe at the Cross as the runner up while Cornwall’s Salt Society was announced as the overall winner. Founder Harriet Secular, who first opened the coastal concept store (followed by sister boutique Boheme by Salt Society) less than one year ago, said she was so proud to be recognised by the industry.

 

It was then the turn of Australian womenswear label Alquema, which was named International Brand of the Year. Nigel and Claudia Hughes, co-founders of Apt Collections, which represents the label in the UK, accepted the trophy on behalf of the team. This was followed by the second special award of the evening: Newcomer. This year this accolade was presented to OSOboutique’s Katie Gibbs following her outstanding contribution to the Sailsbury-based womenswear store since joining only 12 months ago.

 

As the ceremony began to reach its end, the team behind lifestyle supplier Chalk collected the prestigious trophy for British Brand of the Year, presented by last year’s winner Noreen Puri from Pomodoro. Meanwhile, Cornish brand Lily and Me received the award for Sustainable Brand of the Year following its very conscious move towards greener production. Director Ben Haywood took to the stage with sisters Amelia and Polly Webb, saying they were delighted to achieve recognition for the brand’s high ethical standards. Bira’s Andrew Goodacre then announced Rainbow and Spoon as the winner of the final special award of the evening: Community Hero of the Year 2024. 

 

The evening came to a climax when Velvet was announced as overall winner of 2024’s highly coveted Fashion Independent of the Yeartitle. Founder Emma Draper said it had “been a wild ride” since opening the Hove-based store almost 25 years ago and dedicated the award to her “18-strong team of amazing women.” Lancaster indie Renes Fashion and Ediit were also highly commended by the judges.

 

Finally, Boutique magazine publisher Julie Neill presented this year’s Lifetime Achievement trophy to Apt Collections’ co-founders Nigel and Claudia Hughes. Both have been working in the industry for several decades and set up their own agency together in the late 1990s. Over the years they’ve introduced (and helped grow) several international brands in the UK market while championing independent fashion retail. In his speech, Nigel said they were truly shocked and immensely grateful to be recognised.

 

Following the ceremony, the celebrations continued until the early hours as guests enjoyed more drinks and partied on the chequerboard dancefloor. We can’t think of a better way to celebrate independent retail after another challenging yet inspirational year. What a night to remember!