“He’s Like Ice Water – So Fresh To Work With”: Alva Claire Aces The Fashion Awards In Rihanna-Favourite Jawara Alleyne

Alva Claire was watching the Olympics with her girlfriend in Sweden when the British Fashion Council delivered the news that she was nominated for Model of the Year at the 2024 Fashion Awards. She paused. It had, she thought, been a long and winding road to get to this point. Signed to her first agency at 18, south London-raised Claire, now 32, says people often ask her how she was scouted, but not about the in-between bits that happen as a career is actually forged. This year, in particular, she has really pushed herself, from walking her first Chanel show to taking part in her inaugural panel talk with Isamaya Ffrench and Tish Weinstock at British Vogue’s Forces of Fashion. Now up for one of the industry’s most talked-about prizes, alongside Anok Yai, Alex Consani, Amelia Gray, Liu Wen and Mona Tougaard, the thoughtful runway star is using her moment on the main stage to shine a spotlight on her peers. It was a complete no-brainer, she asserts, to wear Jawara Alleyne.

Glam team Bea Sweet and Ali Pirzadeh nailed the brief, while Bucherer provided the diamonds. Daniel Bruno Grandl

The all-important detail shot inside The Belmond Hotel. Daniel Bruno Grandl

“He has that Black London punk feeling I don’t get from other designers,” adds Claire, who says it’s as if the Caymanian-Jamaican designer has always been in her life. “Jawara has a unique way of working, it’s very process led and all about the body, you can’t rush these things.” Indeed, when we speak just days out from the Fashion Awards, the brown mille-feuille of a dress is still in the construction stages, with a fitting or two to go. No matter: “I have this feeling of safety and complete confidence in what he does. There are so many layers to it, both literally and figuratively, he’s like ice water – so fresh to work with.”

An exclusive look in Jawara Alleyne’s studio. Justin Akomiah Studios

“He has this incredible instinct about what feels right.” Justin Akomiah Studios

Besides, before Claire can truly get into the zone for the red carpet, she must first Lime bike across the capital shooting digitals for IMG, carve out time for a hot soak and a hot meal (her absolute non-negotiables before a work event), and “lead with what makes her feel good”, with a little help from her tight-knit crew: stylist Nell Kalonji, make-up artist Bea Sweet and hairstylist Ali Pirzadeh. “This is the right dress for the right year,” muses the model, whose effortless street style was the inspiration for a Vogue shopping supplement just a few months ago. “There are many different people in this one outfit – I wanted to feel armoured with fabric.”

“I wanted to feel armoured with fabric.” Daniel Bruno Grandl

A moment for the train. Daniel Bruno Grandl

While fashion’s big night reflects on the year that’s drawing to a close, a quiet sense of euphoria has already started to seep in regarding 2025. Claire, you see, loves the feeling of renewal: “There’s this fresh breath of opportunity – who knows what it will bring! I look back [on 2024] and didn’t know half the things – personally and professionally – that would unfold. Change is a good thing – we have to remind ourselves.” That feeling is what has always propelled Alva into the light, with like-minded individuals right beside her.

“It’s important to support each other in London.” Justin Akomiah Studios

Alva Claire, who recently dyed her hair red, says the folds of Jawara’s fabric feel like water running down her body. Justin Akomiah Studios

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