We are pleased to announce the winners of the International Fashion Showcase: Fashion Utopias, in a prize-giving ceremony at Somerset House, London presented by Sarah Mower MBE. The award winners were selected by a panel of experts, representative of both the business and cultural spheres of the fashion industry.

Country Award

WINNER: Czech Republic for its exhibition Last Fata Morgana.

With special mentions to: Austria, Egypt and Philippines exhibitions.

Winning country Czech Republic was selected from 24 participating countries by a panel of industry experts. Its presentation, organised by the Czech Centre London and Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, showcased the emerging talents of Antonin Simon, Filip Jakab, Karolina Jurikova, Marketa Kratochvilova, Monika Krobova, Sofya Samareva and Tereza Rosalie Kladosova; and of Pavel Ivančic as Curator. All of the winners received a trophy designed by Yunus and Eliza, participants in the BFC Rock Vault initiative.

Designer Award

WINNER: Hala Kaiksow (Bahrain) for her impressive design showcased in the Next in Line exhibition,

With special mentions to: Dian Pelangi (Indonesia), Estelita Mendonça (Portugal), Timi Hayek (Lebanon), Barbora Kubickova (Slovakia) and Yana Chervinska (Ukraine)

Curation Award

WINNER: Tala Hajjar of Lebanon,

With special mentions to: Love Curly and Masha Reva (Ukraine) and Cecilia Santamarina de Orive (Guatemala). A special mention for accessory design was given to Oval by Otilia Mihalcea of Romania and for set design to Miguel Bento of Portugal.  

The panel is headed by Sarah Mower MBE, BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent and Chief Critic at Voguerunway.com. Sarah said

"The response of the 24 countries who have imagined inner Utopias for this year's IFS is both impressive and deeply moving. The exhibitors this year have so much to teach London and the world about respect for each other and the richness and creativity in cultural diversity."

The countries that took part in IFS 2016 are:

Austria, Czech Republic, Egypt, Guatemala, Indonesia, Lebanon, Korea, Portugal, Philippines, Nigeria, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine.

Next in Line: Argentina, Bahrain, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, United Arab Emirates.

Two previous IFS designers are showing on the London Fashion Week schedule this season – Xiao Li from China and Sid Neigum from Canada.

International Fashion Showcase 2016, this year exhibited as Fashion Utopias, features more than 80 designers from 24 countries and is a free, public exhibition open until Tuesday 23 February. For IFS 2016, the West Wing at Somerset House is transformed into a Utopian terrain, designed by Hatty Ellis Coward, where an emerging generation of international designers and curators invite visitors to share their vision of the future

The exhibition is arranged over 14 galleries, 13 of which represent a country. One group installation, ‘Next in Line’, curated by Shonagh Marshall and sponsored by Italian mannequin manufacturer Bonaveri, features designers from 11 further nations.

The International Fashion Showcase is directed by Anna Orsini, Strategic Consultant British Fashion Council and Niamh Tuft, Programme Manager British Council.

Congratulations to all the 2016 winners and to all those taking part in the 2016 Fashion Utopias! 

The British Council and the British Fashion Council would like to thank Bonaveri, sponsor of Next in Line and the IFS Curator Award, and official mannequin supplier to the International Fashion Showcase; our partners London College of Fashion and Fashion Scout for the mentoring and showcasing opportunities offered to the International Fashion Showcase designers; collaborators Direct Drive TV & Inition and Unmade for the unique opportunities offered to designers; event partners Time Out; and furniture suppliers Arper.