What does it mean to be one of the nation’s best-dressed in 2025? It’s not so much about clothes as it is a point of view. Each of these talents – from the eternal influencers to the eccentrics, the models to the male leads – generates, rather than emulates, style. For some, a formative British heritage is everything. Would Liam Gallagher have that same Stone Island swagger were he not from Manchester? For others, it’s a willingness to buck existing trends and set some new ones (quiet luxury never reached Charli xcx), while staying entirely in their own lane (Lily Allen fast-tracked her way to national treasure status with the help of her bracingly honest musical comeback, and she did it in a nun’s habit and heels).
In addition to making waves within their own fields, all 50 individuals on British Vogue’s inaugural best-dressed list have done their bit to help put British fashion on the map. In divided times, the unifying experience of watching Claudia Winkleman’s Balmoral-meets-Chanel-meets-indie-sleaze wardrobe go viral via The Celebrity Traitors was especially welcome. These culture-shapers – from the Princess of Wales with her penchant for vintage to Kate Moss and her open-bag look – make light work of looking good.
Of everyone on the list, no one captures fashion’s current mood better than Adwoa Aboah. British Vogue’s digital cover star has returned to modelling after the birth of her first child, continues to nurture her mental health platform Gurls Talk and a flourishing acting career, and has somehow found the time to hard launch her own handbag line. She’s as spectacular in a vintage tee and trackies as she is wearing a sheer Colleen Allen gown, and proof that it’s the little details – be it a ribbed sock tucked into a Phoebe Philo slipper or a single Hello Kitty stud amidst the diamonds in her ear – that really single someone out as stylish. Dressed up or down, Aboah represents the very best of aspirational British style. Alice Newbold
Discover everyone whose 2025 wardrobe won them a spot on British Vogue’s inaugural best-dressed list.
The Eternal Influencers
- The Princess of Wales
- Alexa Chung
- Sienna Miller
- Kate Moss
- Naomi Campbell
- Victoria Beckham
Any conversation about British style would be incomplete without mention of these women, all of whom are responsible for at least one (sometimes several) seminal moments in the nation’s relationship to fashion – the gold Glasto dress, the Westminster Abbey wedding gown reveal, the Vivienne Westwood platforms so high they felled a young supermodel as she stalked the runway. Their wardrobes are entirely distinct, but they do have something in common: they all wield an influence as enduring as it is identifiable. In 2025 – long after her way with fringed suede and low-slung belts first inspired a generation of young women to buy into boho – virtual tills still start ringing the second Sienna is papped in a high-street purchase. Alexa’s off-duty looks are as reposted as her red-carpet appearances, the Princess of Wales’s quiet support can change the trajectory of a brand (certain designers are no doubt holding their breath ahead of the spring, when Catherine will grant her first royal warrants), and fashion and beauty mogul Victoria Beckham remains her own best brand ambassador. South London’s OG supers, meanwhile, continue to overdeliver when it comes to repping UK fashion. This was the year that Zara persuaded Kate to reimagine her Worthy Farm wardrobe for a mass audience, while Naomi took a break from family life to lend her considerable star power to independent London label Dilara Findikoglu’s spring/summer 2026 show. Kerry McDermott
The Breakout Stars
- Aimee Lou Wood
- Rachel Jones
- Ch’lita Collins
- David Jonsson
Hands up if you have a style crush on David Jonsson! The Industry star stole hearts at Milan Fashion Week this September thanks to a peppy Gucci suit styled with a Pepto-Bismol pink shirt (not for the faint of heart). Britain’s other breakout stars also have the courage to stand out from the crowd. Take image consultant Ch’lita Collins, who is the living embodiment of Seán McGirr’s rebellious McQueen – all skinny scarves and even skinnier jeans worn to slink around London’s underground club scene – or visual artist Rachel Jones, who is redefining what art style looks like off the back of her first retrospective (aged just 34). Elsewhere, leading lady in the making Aimee Lou Wood attended her first Met Gala in an Ahluwalia look that put the spotlight on Congolese culture, all while adhering to the 2025 Superfine: Tailoring Black Style theme and calling to mind that Julia Roberts tailoring moment from the 1990 Golden Globes. See? We told you it’s all about conviction. Alice Newbold
The Eccentrics
- Emma Corrin
- Richard E Grant
- Claudia Winkleman
- Cynthia Erivo
Everyone on this list can turn out a look, but not all of them would be so bold as to wear an apron on the red carpet. It’s all in a day’s work for Emma Corrin, who was naturally first in line for Mrs Prada’s haute reinvention of an item hitherto confined to the hob. First after Richard E Grant, that is: the 68-year-old got dibs when he was tasked with modelling the black leather version on Miu Miu’s spring/summer 2026 runway in Paris (Kylie Jenner had to content herself with watching from the front row). To be truly British is to be a touch eccentric and all of these entries gleefully embrace the experimental. Cynthia has spent much of this year pairing her Wicked Witch couture with sinister Balenciaga shades and viral manicures, and Claudia’s Highland fashion fling of a Celebrity Traitors wardrobe (capes, kilts, tulle) threatened to overshadow anything the contestants were doing – Alan Carr included. Kerry McDermott
The Truly Committed To A Look
- Liam Gallagher
- Amal Clooney
- Miquita Oliver
- Iris Law
It was the summer of the tambourine, the techy parka (Liam swapped Stone Island for Awake NY x Ten C) and pints, pints, pints, as the Gallagher brothers put the family feud on ice in the name of music merch. Having banked collabs with Adidas and Levi’s, the band proved they will indeed live forever – if only via their method-dressing fans’ commitment to bucket hats. While the Britpoppers served up a time capsule’s worth of Manc swagger, away from the stadiums, Iris Law and Miquita Oliver pillaged the collections of London’s vintage dealers to achieve their unique takes on Y2K charity-shop chic. A moment, too, for Amal Clooney, a woman for whom party season is not actually a season, rather a year-round commitment. No one straddles real-life drama and red-carpet glamour quite like this barrister (with apologies to All’s Fair), and those caramel-tinted locks must be indirectly responsible for keeping many a blow-dry bar in business. It’s not a look, darling, it’s a lifestyle. Alice Newbold
The Industry Insiders
- Grace Wales Bonner
- Julia Sarr-Jamois
- Bella Freud
- Zezi Ifore
- Martine Rose
File these women – and the fashion vibe shifts they subtly set in motion – under IYKYK. Martine Rose keeps countless stylish Londoners (and much of team Vogue) in football shirts and Shox, while the always immaculately besuited Bella Freud this year added “fashion’s favourite podcaster” to her CV. If there’s a fabulous party happening, stylist Julia Sarr-Jamois is guaranteed to be on the guest list – ditto Zezi Ifore, assuming she’s not manning the decks. Then there’s Grace Wales Bonner, who made her Met Gala debut in some style this year (the Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute featured no fewer than eight of her looks), and capped off her 2025 by being appointed creative director of menswear at Hermès. The low-key south Londoner – who becomes the first Black woman to lead design at a major fashion house – will unveil her first collection in January 2027. Excited is an understatement. Kerry McDermott
The Music-Makers
- Skepta
- Charli xcx
- Dua Lipa
- Raye
- Suki Waterhouse
- Lily Allen
- Little Simz
- FKA Twigs
- Jorja Smith
- Central Cee
It was the year a certain West End girl eviscerated us with her sweet-but-sinister break-up album, before cutting a swathe through London’s party scene in a series of revenge looks. But if Lily Allen deployed the naked dress to devastating effect, Dua Lipa did a stellar job of elevating scanty stage style on the South American leg of her globetrotting Radical Optimism tour. Charli xcx pressed pause on pop to conjure up Wuthering Heights-worthy material with The Velvet Underground’s John Cale, but not before playing the quintessential bride in both Vivienne Westwood and Danielle Frankel (a brat could never have just one dress). Raye got her flowers in British Vogue, courtesy of IB Kamara and a lot of Chanel, while 16Arlington girl Jorja Smith cohosted this magazine’s first vintage sale; Suki Waterhouse out boho-ed the best of them and Central Cee brought some serious swag to proceedings. Elsewhere, FKA Twigs stayed true to her directional club kid roots; Skepta cemented his status as a fashion designer with another memorable Mains show; and Little Simz bounced between music and movies with Prada, Dior and Valentino on speed dial for colourful tailoring. Each of these bright Brits moves to their own beat. Alice Newbold
The Fashion Boyfriends
- Josh O’Connor
- Harris Dickinson
- Ian Wright
- Riz Ahmed
Let’s hear it for the boys, shall we? Often a carefully chosen and cannily timed naked dress is all that stands between an ambitious ingenue and the attention of the press, while men, arguably, have to work a bit harder to make themselves stand out on a red carpet. Josh O’Connor has managed it with the help of a wardrobe crammed with Loewe and a fondness for a fabulous brooch, and he happily remains a Jonathan Anderson muse now that the designer has taken the reins at Dior. His fellow internet boyfriend Harris Dickinson is perhaps most closely associated with Prada (or possibly Rhode…), though the look that really got people talking was the statement tee he wore at Cannes, which called out Suella Braverman for describing homelessness as a “lifestyle choice”. Riz Ahmed, who is also a fan of a statement piece (remember his Prada kurta?), was one of several screen heart-throbs spied in AV Vattev’s shrunken cardi this year, and we can’t ignore the world of sport, where Ian Wright long ago won our hearts. Wrighty’s 2025 front-row appearances only served to make us love him more. Kerry McDermott
The Model Dressers
- Adwoa Aboah
- Alva Claire
- Lila Moss
- Kai-Isaiah Jamal
- Edie Campbell
There was a moment backstage at 16Arlington’s recent salon show, staged in collaboration with Antony Price, that saw Kai-Isaiah Jamal discuss bringing back house parties with Lila Moss, prompting Alva Claire to chime in and say Anti-era Rihanna is on her after-dark playlist. Each model had their own party trick to shout about (slotting a Mini Cheddar between your front teeth, anyone?) Their real skill, though – beyond looking fabulous in clothes – is their ability to shape industry conversation. It was mesmerising watching Edie Campbell radiate cool in a Dracula-collared frock coat on that 16Arlington runway, but just as compelling was seeing her rock up to call time in a leather jacket and high-waisted jeans, topped off with aviator shades and a lick of red lipstick. These models get booked because of the image they have cultivated, not just the one they were born with. Good looks are just the tip of the iceberg… check out Aboah, who launched her own line of handbags, The Veil, this year. Or Moss becoming the first Barbie with type 1 diabetes to break into the Mattel universe. There is much to raise a glass to – at a house party or anywhere else – while mentally shopping their wardrobes. Alice Newbold
The Screen Sirens
- Michaela Coel
- Simone Ashley
- Rosamund Pike
- Keira Knightley
When you think about it, it makes sense for a decorated actor to have a taste for dramatic fashion and a flashy accessory. It’s certainly been true of Keira Knightley this year, whose most recent tilt into period drama territory was not for a role. Instead she swept into the premiere of her Netflix thriller The Woman in Cabin 10 (no corsets in that one) looking like a courtier at Versailles, crystals flung across the embroidery of her Erdem spring/summer 2026 dress and a regal ruff at her throat. Rosamund Pike’s wardrobe, meanwhile, is as unpredictable as her projects: one minute she’s swathed in scarlet Simone Rocha with roadkill shoes, the next she’s in jeans and a tee at Paris Fashion Week. Elsewhere, Michaela Coel and Simone Ashley have pretty much cornered the market in sexpot dressing between them, thanks to their relationships with two of British fashion’s brightest young things: Maximilian Davis and Marco Capaldo, respectively. Although she’s an elusive presence on the red carpet, Coel also managed to out-dress everyone at the Toronto International Film Festival this year in a traditional Sudanese toub – her attempt to honour the sacrifice and immense suffering of the women at the “epicentre of the world’s largest famine and genocide”, she told Vogue. Great style and a social conscience? Respect. Kerry McDermott
The National Treasures
- Mary Berry
- Neneh Cherry
- Zadie Smith
- Olivia Colman
A flick through this carousel is the equivalent of a digital hug from the women who keep bold florals alive (Mary), make tinted glasses look impossibly cool (Zadie), convince us – almost! – to get a gamine crop (Olivia) and commit to cracking a smile on the front row (thank God for Neneh). Smith recently asked, in a Vogue essay, whether it’s possible to be “serious and seriously glamorous”, and her answer (spoiler alert!) was that fashion with a capital F should always be encouraged. “It adds to the pleasure and variety and beauty of the world, which even writers – serious as we’re supposed to be – crave as much as the next fashion victim.” Words to live by from the very best of British. Alice Newbold