Jewellery glitterati launch brand new Leopards Awards for Excellence
Jewellery glitterati to launch Leopards Awards for Excellence in Jewellery
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The inaugural Leopards Awards for Excellence in Jewellery is set to get top billing at a Goldsmith's Hall Gala dinner next week, flagging up a new British campaign to raise the profile of British designers and encourage jewellery training among young people from underprivileged backgrounds.
Organised by a group of leading lights in the UK jewellery profession, the Gala Awards will be the first official event to showcase the work and plans of the Leopards, who were fornmed in 2016.
They include designers Solange Azagury-Partridge, Shaun Leane, Theo Fennell and Stephen Webster plus Carol Woolton, jewellery editor of Vogue magazine and PR expert Susan Farmer. Their star-studded dinner is expected to serve as a platform for a new movement aimed at helping young independent designers who might be struggling for international exposure.
In June, a design competition, run in conjunction with The Leopard's partners Princes Trust, was launched, with entrants aged 16-30 who have received support from the Trust, required to come up with designs for any part of the body, which were specifically inspired by the city of London.
All submissions had to be supported by preparatory work which made the link to London obvious. The competition closed in August and a shortlist of candidates required to present their concepts to the Leopards panel. Eventually after a difficult selection process, four young designers were chosen as winners.
At the dinner on November 15, these winners will receive their prize of a mentorship programme provided by Azagury-Partridge, Fennell, Leane and Stephen Webster which guarantees them direct access to four of the best jewellery houses in the world and help with translating their concepts into items of jewellery for commercial sale, to raise funds for the Princes Trust foundation.
“We want to teach people to be involved with jewellery that stands the test of time and last forever,” explains Fennell. “We want kids to be excited by it, and not feel like it’s just a job where they’re going into a production line,” said Theo Fennell.
The evening will be a glittering awards ceremony with other awards including Best Jewellery Moment in a film, Jewellery Icon and Best Jewellery Wearer of the Year, sponsored by partners Vogue magazine, also being presented.
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