Grindr Just Won a Fashion Award

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In January, the designer Jonathan Anderson lathered up an extra measure of interest in his J.W. Anderson fall men's 2016 collection when he announced a few days before the runway show that he would be live streaming it on Grindr, the men's dating app. Apparently the marketing stunt was worth it: on Wednesday, Anderson and Grindr won the "Beyond the Runway" award for the most engaging fashion week campaign at the Fashion Futures Awards in London, held by Decoded Fashion and the British Fashion Council.

While Anderon's choice to pair with Grindr for his live stream elicited some giggles at the time — hookup apps! — it wasn't terribly shocking, given that designers have been getting creative about how they get consumers' eyes on their runway shows for years now. Some air their presentations on platforms like YouTube; others, like Misha Nonoo and Wes Gordon, have uploaded collection imagery to Instagram during Fashion Week in place of a traditional runway show. Hence the need for an award dedicated to this sort of activation.

As Anderson explained the partnership to the New York Times in January: "We're all humans, so we all have to be somewhat sexually attractive to someone. That's the name of the game, with clothing."

The other winners at the Fashion Futures Awards included Snapchat ("The Tech Visionary" award), Asos (for innovative consumer experiences), and Semaine (for the best e-commerce launch).