Walpole British Luxury Awards 2019

I was pleased to be invited to the 2019 Walpole British Luxury Awards at The Dorchester. Walpole is a non-profit organisation that promotes and supports British businesses in the luxury sector (worth £48 billion to the UK economy). Members cover many sectors, from fashion to travel, automobile to jewellery.

With Helen Brocklebank CEO Walpole

The awards were hosted by Laurence Fox and were given to those businesses, from the established to the emerging, who most impressed the judges. A 'Legend' award went to Dame Zandra Rhodes and Bentley Cars won the 'Future Legacy' award. Other brands winning various categories included Church's Shoes and Burberry. Dunhill was named 'British Luxury Brand' of the year.

The Dunhill team with their award

Dame Zandra Rhodes with her Legend award

There were over 400 people at the dinner and I chatted to many from business and the press. It was good to see and hear the strength of passion for British business and, in a time of political and economic stress, it's reassuring to see an organisation like Walpole supporting a strong sector of the British economy. 

Walpole's Brands of Tomorrow programme supports emerging smaller brands through twelve months of mentoring and networking to help them become leaders in their fields. Some of the brands who've been through this programme have been featured on this blog, such as Private White V.C., Orlebar Brown, Hamilton & Hare, Kathryn Sargent, Duke & Dexter, Nyetimber, Bremont and others.

British goods are appreciated abroad almost more than at home, so getting the message out to areas where exports are possible is vitally important. Walpole supports many initiatives in the US and Asia where British fashion and other products sell well. See Walpole for more information.

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