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Designer of eco-friendly holdall is given MBE
Rashid Razaq31 Dec 2008
HANDBAG designer Anya Hindmarch and restaurateur Nigel Platts-Martin told of their jubilation today at being recognised in the New Year honours list.
Ms Hindmarch is awarded an MBE for her eco-friendly I'm Not A Plastic Bag, which became a global fashion phenomenon, selling 80,000 in a day and helping raise environmental awareness.
Mr Platts-Martin, owner of five London restaurants boasting six Michelin stars between them, gets an MBE for services to the hospitality industry.
They are joined on the honours list by a host of Olympians: triple gold-winning cyclist Chris Hoy is knighted, swimming champion Rebecca Adlington gets an OBE, 400m winner Christine Ohuruogu an MBE and cyclist Bradley Wiggins a CBE. F1 winner Lewis Hamilton also gets an MBE.
Ms Hindmarch, a Wandsworth-based fashion accessories designer, said the bag's success showed fashion could "reach and influence beyond the immediate industry".
She added: "It is a real honour to be awarded an MBE. I am so proud to be British and am very fortunate to have started my business in London. To go to the palace and receive an award from the Queen is a real pinch-yourself moment for me."
Ms Hindmarch made the £5 reusable holdall for the We Are What We Do movement, to highlight the ecological impact of plastic bags.
Hundreds queued outside Sainsbury's when famous names such as a Keira Knightley were seen with one. "I am lucky enough to have a career in fashion that has led to involvement in many other fields such as the environment. The bag's popularity was unbelievable and the ramifications of it are still being felt."
Restaurateur Mr Platts-Martin, 54, owns The Square in Mayfair, The Glasshouse in Kew, Chez Bruce in Wandsworth Common, the Ledbury in Notting Hill and La Trompette in Chiswick.
He said the honour was a complete shock: "The award is down to the staff at the restaurants. They have consistently delivered for 50 years - it is a great accolade for all their hard work.
"When I visit the palace for the investiture, I will have a celebratory lunch at The Square and toast all the staff for their efforts, which keep customers coming back for more."
Fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett is knighted, and Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant receives a CBE.
Also honoured is Michael Sheen, who played former prime minister Tony Blair in 2006's award-winning film The Queen. Having met the monarch as played by Dame Helen Mirren, Sheen, 39, said it would be nice to meet the "real Queen" when he collects his OBE.
Reading FC chairman John Madejski is knighted for his charity work, while Dragons' Den star Peter Jones receives a CBE for services to business, entrepreneurship and young people. Jones dedicated it to his father, who is recovering from a serious illness in hospital.
An MBE goes to child protection campaigner Sara Payne, whose eight-year-old daughter Sarah was murdered in 2000.
