By Justin Fenner

There’s likely more than one British designer wishing they could step into Nicholas Kirkwood‘s shoes right now. On Tuesday, Kirkwood became the first accessory designer to win the British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund.

“Nicholas has created a real business in an impressively short amount of time and has become one of the world’s most influential shoe designers,” said British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman, who’s on the fund’s judging panel. “I very much look forward to seeing what he does next.”

What’s next for Kirkwood is a plan for major growth. The prize includes £200,000 (just under $315,000 at current exchange) and an 18-month mentoring program for Kirkwood and his partner Christopher Suarez designed to help them turn their company into a global fashion brand.

Kirkwood, who recently designed all the shoes for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, beat a field of other young talents that included Roksanda Ilincic, Mary Katrantzou, Peter Pilotto, and Emilia Wickstead for the prize. In the past, the award has gone to Erdem Moralioglu, Jonathan Saunders, and Christopher Kane, the latest talent to join luxury conglomerate PPR.

Only time will tell if a big deal with one of the world’s foremost fashion companies is in the cards for Kirkwood, too. In the meantime, a look at some of our favorite Kirkwood originals available right now.

– Additional reporting by Christina Pérez
Source: Getty

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