DAME MARGARET BARBOUR RECEIVES A SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD AT THE 2024 FASHION AWARDS

Dame Margaret Barbour, Chairman of British heritage and lifestyle brand Barbour, received a Special Recognition Award at the 2024 Fashion Awards for her contributions to the fashion industry. (At top, Helen Barbour and Dame Margaret Barbour attend The Fashion Awards 2024 Presented by Pandora at the Royal Albert Hall on December 02, 2024, in London, England. Photo by Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

In the 1980s, she designed the three jackets that made Barbour a household name: the Bedale, the Beaufort and the Border. Today, they remain in the range and continue to be bestsellers. In everything the company has done, Dame Margaret has always ensured that Barbour remains true to John Barbour’s founding principles of quality, durability, attention to detail and being fit for purpose.

Over the course of her career, Dame Margaret has consistently used her position and platform to give back, having launched multiple charitable initiatives. In 1988, she founded The Barbour Trust to support charities and important causes, mainly in the North East of England. To date, the foundation has donated over £29m (around $37 m) to charitable causes, such as using Barbour’s South Shields factory to make PPE for the NHS to help the fight against COVID-19. She continues to innovate the brand through industry-leading partnerships with Erdem, Ganni, and Gucci Continuum. She’s implemented circular practices across the brand under the umbrella name “Wax for Life,” which offers re-waxing and repairs to extend the lives of wax jackets through Barbour Re-Loved. For Autumn Winter ’24, she oversaw the launch of Quilt for Life, a new service in the UK that repairs quilted jackets. 

Barbour said, “I am absolutely thrilled to receive this Special Recognition Award from the BFC and to be honoured in this way at The Fashion Awards. Barbour means so much to me – I took over the company in the most difficult of circumstances and as we celebrate our 130th anniversary this year, I think my late husband John would be very proud of how far the company has come and what I have achieved in making Barbour the recognized global lifestyle brand it is today. This Award, however, would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of all of my management team and staff who have contributed so much to our success.”

Caroline Rush, Chief Executive, British Fashion Council said, “We are delighted to honor Dame Margaret Barbour with a Special Recognition Award for her remarkable contributions to the fashion industry and continued commitment to British excellence and innovation in the brand’s 130th year. Over the course of her illustrious career, Dame Margaret has championed creativity and positioned Barbour as a cultural leader, always staying true to the brand’s renowned craftsmanship and maintaining a clear focus on sustainability and giving back through charitable initiatives.”