The winners of this year’s Drapers Independents Awards, which recognise the best independent retailers and brands across the UK and Ireland, were revealed at a ceremony in London yesterday. Coco de Mer won Best Marketing Campaign, a new category for 2018, while Fleur of England won Lingerie Brand of the Year and the Lingerie Independent of the Year award went to Mish.
Best New Retailer went to Burrows & Hare for its clear vision, impressive catalogue of brands and strong identity. Burrow & Hare also won the award for Best Store Design for its two stores in Oxford Covered Market and Westgate Oxford. Rachel Scott Couture scooped the award for Best Customer Experience, which was judged on both the entry forms and an independent mystery shopping exercise. Sarah Thomas was highly commended in this category. Another new award, Local Champion, went to Capture Boutique and Country Pursuits for their amazing work within the local community. OD’s won Kidswear Independent of the Year, while Lifestyle independent of the year was awarded to That Thing Collective. Multichannel independent of the Year, sponsored by Visualsoft, went to Designer Childrenswear for its phenomenal global growth. Psyche picked up Menswear Independent of the Year, sponsored by Remus Uomo, for its enthusiasm, passion, success and longevity.
Womenswear Independent of the year, sponsored by Frank Lyman Design, was awarded to Black White Denim, while Katie & Jo was highly commended in this category. Best New Brand, another new category this year, sponsored by Rudholm, was awarded to King & Tuckfield, while Gym King was highly commended. Scamp & Dude was named Kids’ Brand of the Year while Menswear Brand of the Year, also sponsored by Visualsoft, went to Marc Darcy, and Mos Mosh won Womenswear Brand of the Year. Lifetime Achievement was awarded to Julian and Rhona Blades, co-founders of seven-store independent retailer Jules B. The award for Most Influential on Social Media – a new category for this year – was picked up by Fashercise for its slick use of different types of content, which judges said was on a par with a much bigger, more established businesses.
