All of which sounds admirably ambitious. But it also raises the question of whether this a harbinger of the modern age, where fashion is open to the world (see: the increasing discussion about the need for "consumer-facing" fashion shows), and attention hangs on the hook of a sparkling celebrity parade, be it at the N.F.L. draft or the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Or have we, in fact, finally reached red-carpet — and for that matter, award show — saturation?
On the one hand, I am all for global fashion awards, as opposed to local fashion awards. This is a global industry.
Traditionally, the United States and the United Kingdom have hosted their own hometown heroes' events (the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards and the B.F.C. awards), which have tended to seem a lot like high school, with the usual suspects dressed up and the same names nominated over and over again. Though both groups have tried to leaven their parochialism by adding an "international award," it hasn't really changed the overall import, which may be why neither Milan nor Paris has followed suit.
By expanding their purview to include all designers everywhere, the B.F.C. will not only solve this problem, but also expand its potential donor base and guest list, Londo n not having the same tradition of private and corporate philanthropy as, say, the United States.
Photo The British Fashion Council has big things planned for the Royal Albert Hall in London. Credit Jan Kruger/Getty Images
Ms. Massenet, for example, specifically mentioned American retailers as a potential guest-list target. (Terry Lundgren, the chief executive of Macy's Inc., is famous for his fund-raising).
The international aspect will likewise pump up the red-carpet marketing opportunities, as it is the unspoken job of nominated designers to invite their famous "muses" to the event, and celebrities are enlisted as presenters to the designers who dress them (or want to dress them). There are a lot of interested parties who could be cannily employed to the B.F.C.'s benefit.
Moreover, the fact that it will be the British who bestow the laurels for best women's wear and best men's wear designer in the world (among other achievements) will nicely frame London, the city with the least economic fashion power of the Big Four weeks, as an influencer. And it will underscore its role as the talent incubator for the industry.
(Not to mention the fact that it will ignite speculation about what Ms. Massenet, the founder and former chairwoman of luxury e-tailer Net-a-Porter, who left that company last September, will do next — given the rumors that her ambitions lie with American Vogue, Ms. Wintour's fief, and that she was being considered for Grace Coddington's former job as creative director).
Assuming it works, of course. As it happens, the Fashion Awards are scheduled for Dec. 5, when London tends to be wet and cold, and may pose some red-carpet challenges. (Get the heat lamps ready.)
There is already some rebellion in the ranks against the Met — Gwyneth Paltrow famously called the gala "boring" and "unfun" in 2013 and announced she was no longer going — and more enforced faux festivities may rankle.
And Ms. Massenet no longer has her e-commerce platform as a lever for brand support, the way Ms. Wintour has Vogue. She will be depending on the halo effect of the education foundation, and the desire to mount the same steps as Daniel Craig's James Bond and the royal family.
Still, even the possibility of another must-go-to international award event could have a ripple effect on the fashion world. Pointedly, Steven Kolb, chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which is also transforming its event into a dinner and televising the evening, wrote in an email: "the CFDA and BFC have a great friendship and they shared their ideas with us. Looking forward to see how it develops."
It is not hard to imagine that if the B.F.C. is successful in its makeover, the next thing you know, the C.F.D.A. will be upsizing its event. And that's before we even get to the Fashion Group International Awards, or the Couture Council Artistry of fashion Awa rd. (Didn't know about those, did you?) It's exhausting even to contemplate.
And I can't help but feel that as the fashion party world professionalizes (because, let's be honest, that's what all of this is: the transformation of events into businesses) something — some sense of fun, and the legitimacy of private celebration — is disappearing.
The reason Hollywood famously enjoys the Golden Globes more than the Oscars is that they are less portentous: They include dinner, and attendees schmooze and move around and drink at will. The reason Oscar-goers (and, for that matter, Met-goers) change their red-carpet attire for the after-parties is that they no longer have to serve as ads for a brand and have more freedom to wear what they want.
And one reason London is often so beloved as a party venue is that its events have historically felt less polished, and less controlled, than big hoo-has like the Met Ball. People are allowed to get sloppier. Now all that is coming to an end.
It's for a purpose greater than simply the industry patting itself on the back. It will surely get more page views. But some of the soul is being lost.
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