The Great British Brands Party 2020

To celebrate the launch of Great British Brands 2020, a host of big names from the British luxury industry joined us at Annabel’s for our annual GBB party.

This year’s event was our biggest yet, with the couture dress featured on the 2020 Great British Brands cover, designed by Vivienne Westwood and Andreas Kronthaler and worn by Vivienne’s granddaughter Cora Corré. It’s being auctioned in aid of HaKa, an NGO founded by grassroots activist Farwiza Farhan to conserve, protect and restore The Leuser Ecosystem, in Indonesia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of 2.6 million hectares. It is the last place on earth where elephants, rhinos, orangutans and tigers still roam together in the wild. If you’re interested in owning this beautiful dress, you can place a bid here.

Speaking at the event, Editorial Director of Country & Town House Lucy Cleland discussed some of the core messages from this year’s edition. ‘When we announced that optimism was the theme of our 2020 edition of Great British Brands, there were more than a few raised eyebrows. What? Optimism? In the third year of Brexit hell; in a year which saw more huge high street names hit the skids; optimistic when everyone’s being asked to stop buying stuff to save the world,’ she said.

‘But, herein, lies the beauty of Great British Brands – buy less we must and it’s why we were so delighted to work with the Vivienne Westwood team and Cora on the cover dress. Vivienne must be fashion’s most ardent and outspoken advocate when it comes to addressing our over-consumption and protecting our environment. But her messaging isn’t about not buying altogether, it’s about buying less but buying smarter.’

Lucy also made some exciting announcements, including plans to introduce awards to our 2021 Great British Brands, which will be a ‘purpose’ edition.

We would like to thank our sponsors Hattingley Valley and Chase Distillery for providing the drinks for the party, and to Barnard & Westwood for the invitations. A huge thank you also to Salon 64 for getting the C&TH team party ready, and to Boodles for providing the glitz. 

Buy your issue of Great British Brands 2020 here | Vivienne Westwood for Great British Brands 2020

Video filmed and edited by Thaitan Ltd

Images: Michael Dawes

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