King Charles Honors Anna Wintour, Roksanda Ilincic in Debut Birthday List
LONDON – Anna Wintour and Roksanda Ilincic have both received accolades in King Charles’ debut birthday honors list.
Wintour, who already holds the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, has become a Companion of Honour, a top accolade. She joins figures including Paul Smith, J.K. Rowling, Elton John and Paul McCartney as members of the select group.
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The honor is reserved for those who have made “a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time,” according to the British Royal Household. There are only 65 members at any one time.
Wintour, global content officer at Condé Nast, has been recognized for services to fashion. She was made a Dame in 2017.
Ilincic has become a Member of the Order of the British Empire, or MBE, also for services to fashion.
The Serbian designer is a fixture at London Fashion Week and is known for her dramatic, color-drenched silhouettes that draw inspiration from the worlds of art, dance and theater.
Ilincic, who is based in London, studied architecture and applied arts at college in Belgrade. She moved to London in the late Nineties to study for her MA at Central Saint Martins under Professor Louise Wilson.
There, she laid the foundations of her clothing and accessories business, which Ilincic launched in 2005. The designer has a store on Mount Street in Mayfair and her collections sell at stores including Mytheresa, Selfridges and Harrods.
She has also taken part in the Great Britain campaign to promote British products and craftsmanship abroad. Last year, Ilincic designed the costumes for Royal Ballet dancers performing in Valentino Zucchetti’s world premiere of “Prima,” at the Royal Opera House.
This year’s birthday honors list has a heavy literary and artistic skew. The novelist and screenwriter Ian McEwan became a Companion of Honour for services to literature.
Fellow novelist Martin Amis, who died last month, was given the honor of Knight Bachelor, also for services to literature.
The director and producer Stephen Frears and Ben Okri, the poet and novelist, were given the honor of Knight Bachelor for services to film and television and to literature, respectively.
The king’s birthday honors list was published on the eve of the Trooping the Colour ceremony on Saturday, June 17.
Trooping the Colour is a military parade and ceremony that marks the “official” birthday of the monarch, no matter when they were born. The tradition began in 1748, and the event takes place each year in the first half of June.
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