Jonathan Anderson Wins Designer of the Year and LVMH Invests in Scandinavian Label Db in This Week's Top Fashion News

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In this week’s fashion headlines, vanguard figures were honored by the British Fashion Council, new brand alliances were forged, while existing ties were nurtured and the industry as a whole began to look forward to the new year.

The annual British Fashion Council‘s awards ceremony dominated discourse with Jonathan Anderson taking home the top prize. Elsewhere, labels announced movement in new categories and regions with LVMH having announced a new investment in the luggage market and Kim Kardashian unveiling a SKIMS x The North Face outerwear line. In a similar vein, Palace linked with UGG once again for a cozy winter capsule. On the warmer side, rising menswear le PÈRE announced it will break ground on a boutique in the sunny California city of Los Angeles. Elsewhere, Balenciaga unveiled its Fall 2025 collection in a leak-style campaign shot on Demna‘s phone, debuting a new Lamborghini collaboration. Lastly, Pantone‘s highly anticipated color of the year for 2025 was announced, ushering in a cozy “Mocha Mousse” brown hue.

Below, Hypebeast has rounded up the top fashion stories of the week so you can stay up to date on trends in the industry.

Jonathan Anderson Named 2024 Designer of the Year

At The British Fashion Council‘s (BFC) 2024 Fashion Awards, the biggest award of the night Designer of the Year was presented to Jonathan Anderson. The LOEWE and JW Anderson head was joined by other nominees including Chemena Kamali for Chloé, John Galliano for Maison Margiela, Miuccia Prada for Miu Miu, Pieter Mulier for Alaïa and Rick Owens for Rick Owens.

The ceremony at London’s Royal Albert Hall was filled with stars like Rihanna, Rita Ora and sisters Chloe x Halle, who performed together for the audience. Other stand-out honorees included A$AP Rocky, who took home the 2024 Cultural Innovator Award, and Alex Consani, who became the first trans woman to win Model of the Year.

LVMH’s Luxury Ventures Fund Acquires Stake In Scandinavian Luggage Brand Db

LVMH’s Luxury Ventures Fund (LLV) has announced the acquisition of a minority stake in Scandinavian luggage brand Db, marking its very first investment in Norway. The news came just weeks after LLV announced a similar investment in the premium Swedish apparel label Our Legacy. “This is the first-ever major funding round for Db,” Richard Collier, CEO of Db, told Hypebeast. He added, “The funding will enable Db to accelerate its global development even further, with plans to increase brand awareness through strategic partnerships, double down on its core North European markets, as well as accelerate growth in the US and Asia.”

Founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Truls Brataas and free-skier Jon Olsson, Db offers a concise product range of “minimalist” backpacks, duffels and totes designed to flow seamlessly between city life and outdoor adventures.

SKIMS Takes the Slopes With Solutions-Oriented The North Face Collaboration

Making an inaugural foray into winterwear Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS has unveiled a collaboration with The North Face, redesigning the legacy outerwear brand’s archival styles in its signature form-flattering fits and tonal colorways. “This [collaboration] marks SKIMS’ first-ever foray into the world of winter wear and partnering with The North Face allowed us to leverage their expertise in this category,” said Kardashian. “The collection is a combination of functional and flattering apparel solutions for the season,” she added.

The limited-edition range fuses SKIMS’ signature body-sculpting and compressive base layers with The North Face’s performance outerwear offering everything from a down jacket, a fleece jacket, a down one-piece, a shell waterproof pant, an adaptive bodysuit, a DotKnit top and bottom. The collection is rounded out with accessories like beanies, gloves and insulated mules.

le PÈRE To Open Los Angeles Flagship Store

According to WWD, NY-based menswear label le PÈRE, is opening up a new shop in Los Angeles, California. The relatively new brand, which opened about two years ago, will set up shop in the city’s West Hollywood neighborhood at 8507 Melrose Avenue. The store built by the brand’s regular collaborators at Bond Architecture, will operate under a similar retail-meets-event-space mentality to the NYC location. Inspired by classic SoCal aesthetics, the space boasts a largely wooden facade and bleacher-style seating. le PÈRE’s Los Angeles store will officially open on Tuesday, December 3.

Brand director at le PÈRE Abhi Janamanchi explained the decision to open their LA outpost: “With the continued success of all the artist events that we’ve been doing here in New York, tons of folks have been like, ‘You obviously have a pretty extensive artist network and there [are] so many musicians and whatnot based in Los Angeles — are you guys ever going to do anything out there?’”

Balenciaga Fall 2025 Breaks the Fourth Wall With Imagery Straight Out of Demna’s Phone

For Fall 2025, Balenciaga‘s mononynous head designer Demna rolled out imagery with leak-style photos debuted on his personal Instagram, complete with busy Balenciaga watermarks. With a foundation rooted in “casual everyday outfits,” the collection swings between extremes, taking staples like the t-shirt from pedestrian celebrity merch depicting icons like Kim Kardashian and Michelle Yeoh to refined moments with a flowy maxi t-shirt dress and a semi-fitted white tee mini-dress.

The new Lamborghini x Balenciaga has also debuted in the range, starting with a conventional co-branded graphic tee featuring the 2025 Lamborghini Temerario. Creative touches like the driver’s manual-inspired clutch and the car key fob accessories echo Demna’s surreal sensibilities. The collection continues the everyday themes with self-referential CEO and CMO sweater styles and Balenciaga uniforms including tracksuits, reversible Arctic parkas, nylon MA-1 jackets, surplus style knitwear and poplin corporate shirting.

Among the footwear, open-toe sole sandals and orthopedic stilettos from Balenciaga x Scholl stand out strongly, while oversized inside-out purses are featured among the handbags. Elsewhere, the collection repurposes outerwear as dramatic scarves that consume already ultra-layered looks.

Palace and UGG’s Third Collaboration Exudes Embroidered Elegance

For the duo’s third collaboration, London-based skate brand Palace reinvents UGG’s iconic silhouettes while introducing bold, creative designs across footwear, accessories, and ready-to-wear apparel.

Stand-out footwear pieces include the UGG Palace Tasman Mule and the UGG Palace Ultra Mini, which are reimagined with intricate embroidery depicting tiger and mountain motifs set against camouflage colorways. The collaborators also debuted the UGG Palace Jacket, which is crafted from soft suede, and lined with plush shearling. Embroidered motifs adorn the jacket along the arms, along with exposed shearling trims and Palace’s signature logo prominently displayed on the back. The collection is topped off with the UGG Palace Bucket Hat and UGG Palace Tote Bag, sharing an identical suede and shearling fabrication with the jacket.

The UGG x Palace collection is set to launch at select Palace stores and the online web store in North America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East on December 6. The collection will then be available in Japan and Korea on December 7, as well as at a one-day pop-in at UGG’s Shanghai store.

Pantone’s 2025 Color of the Year is “Mocha Mousse”

The highly-anticipated Pantone Color of the Year for 2025 is a “simple” and “comforting” brown hue dubbed “Mocha Mousse.” The widely used color-matching system chooses a stand-out color to prepare for the coming year by reflecting on signals from design innovators and cultural references. Throughout 2024 variations of “Mocha Mousse” were omnipresent in top SS25 presentations from Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Miu Miu, and many more. Famously known as the “Tan Suit,” VP Kamala Harris also wore a version of the color in a matching two-piece number at the 2024 DNC ahead of the US presidential elections.

Described by Pantone as a “soft, warming brown” the color sits comfortably between neutral minimalism and decadent luxury, recalling the familiar hues of earthen clay and the diversity of human skin tones. The gastronomical connotations of the title can’t be ignored either–conjuring images of a decadent coffee-infused chocolate dessert. All around, the color inspires a feeling of cozy comfort, demonstrated fittingly by the image of ERL’s California Shearling Coat in “Natural Brown” above.