Meghan Markle's wedding dress designer Clare Waight Keller nominated for designer of the year award

The designer behind the Duchess of Sussex's iconic wedding gown has been nominated for the British Fashion Council's designer of the year award.

Clare Waight Keller, who is the artistic director of French fashion house Givenchy, is shortlisted for the coveted award alongside Gucci’s Alessandro Michele, Valentino's Pierpaolo Piccioli and Virgil Abloh who is menswear designer at Louis Vuitton.

Waight Keller is the designer of choice for Meghan Markle who has looked to her to create custom made pieces for a host of important occasions. Not least on the gown she wore to marry Prince Harry at their fairy-tale ceremony at Windsor Castle in May.

The designer has also been crucial in keeping the Duchess' pregnant out of public gaze with a host of cleverly cut overcoats and draped overcoats.

Recently Waight Keller also served to boost the style credentials of Prince Harry, with the newly wed royal choosing to wear a bespoke suit created by Waight Keller and her team to attend the nuptials of Princess Eugenie.

Waight Keller is originally from Birmingham and studied at Ravensbourne College then at the Royal College of Art before landing her first job at Calvin Klein in New York.

Hers is among the most prestigious and internationally renowned names to appear on this year’s nominees list where she joins Miuccia Prada and Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri.

The Fashion Awards have evolved in recent years in order to provide interest to an international audience, notably by dropping the word British from their title, but the nominees in the ring this year have a patriotic undertone with emerging stars Matty Bovan, Rejina Pyo and Richard Quinn among the homegrown labels up for awards.

Models Adut Akech, Winnie Harlow and Cindy Crawford's daughter Kaia Gerber are also among those who could scoop prizes at the star studded ceremony which is scheduled for 10th December.

The nominees are selected by a voting body made up of 2000 industry insiders from across 32 countries.

Speaking ahead of this morning’s announcement, BFC chair Stephanie Phair congratulated this year's nominees: “Each and every one of them is being recognised for their creative excellence and innovation. I look forward to celebrating with them".

The Fashion Awards 2018 Nominees are (all listed in alphabetical order)

Accessories Designer of the Year

Alessandro Michele for Gucci

Demna Gvasalia for Balenciaga

Jonathan Anderson for LOEWE

Maria Grazia Chiuri for Dior

Miuccia Prada for Prada

Brand of the Year

Balenciaga

Burberry

Gucci

Off-White

Prada

British Designer of the Year Menswear

Craig Green for Craig Green

Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson

Kim Jones for Dior Homme

Martine Rose for Martine Rose

Riccardo Tisci for Burberry

British Designer of the Year Womenswear

Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy

Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson

Roksanda Ilinčić for ROKSANDA

Simone Rocha for Simone Rocha

Victoria Beckham for VICTORIA BECKHAM

British Emerging Talent Menswear

Ben Cottrell and Matthew Dainty for COTTWEILER

Eden Loweth & Tom Barratt for ART SCHOOL

Kiko Kostadinov for Kiko Kostadinov

Phoebe English for PHOEBE ENGLISH

Samuel Ross for A-COLD-WALL*

British Emerging Talent Womenswear

Matty Bovan for Matty Bovan

Natalia Alaverdian for A.W.A.K.E.

Rejina Pyo for REJINA PYO

Richard Quinn for Richard Quinn

Sofia Prantera for Aries

Business Leader

Jonathan Akeroyd for VERSACE

José Neves for FARFETCH

Marco Bizzarri for Gucci

Marco Gobbetti for Burberry

Michael Burke for Louis Vuitton

Designer of the Year

Alessandro Michele for Gucci

Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy

Kim Jones for Dior Homme

Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino

Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton

Model of the Year

Adut Akech

Adwoa Aboah

Bella Hadid

Kaia Gerber

Winnie Harlow

Urban Luxe

Alyx

Palace

Marine Serre

Off-White

Supreme