Education
At the heart of the BFC strategy to support excellence in design education sits the BFC Colleges Council. Founded in 1993 to create an interface between education and industry, the BFC Colleges Council is a membership programme representing the leading fashion departments in universities across the UK.
The aim is to connect an extensive network of experienced course leaders with the fashion and wider creative industries together in support of arts and fashion education.
The BFC organises an annual Colleges Council programme of events and competitions to offer students and course leaders the chance to interact with the industry, enriching education and creating opportunities.
Learn more about the BFC Colleges Council HERE.
BFC FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS
The British Fashion Council Foundation works to underpin the next generation of creative talent through its education initiatives.
Supporting students is imperative to maintaining the UK’s position as the birthplace of global talent and at this time, championing upcoming fashion creatives establishing pathways through education is more critical than ever.
The BFC Foundation provides financial support to students to complete their studies. Scholarships are open to those undertaking an MA or BA Fashion Design course at a BFC Colleges Council member university.
In addition to financial grants, the BFC scholarship programme aims to create network-building and learning opportunities for scholarship recipients, as well as in-person touch points throughout the year. This consists of cultural visits and access to the BFC Business Development programme for emerging designers, which includes seminars, workshops and webinars.
Non-UK students are eligible to apply for a scholarship in the case of exceptional personal circumstances, such as hardship as a result of conflict and/or economic upheaval in their home country, or familial disownment/estrangement or challenges. Interested students should apply to the British Fashion Council directly. Please find further information below.
TYPES OF SCHOLARSHIPS
BA Scholarship
The BA Scholarship is open to students commencing their degree or part way through, who have a confirmed place on a BA Fashion Design course. The scholarship helps towards course tuition fees with a contribution to course costs or living expenses. You can apply for this scholarship if you are at college or school and expecting to start a BA course in September this year.
BA Final Year Scholarship
The BA Final Year Scholarship is open to students in their final year of a BA Fashion Design course. The funding aims to cover production costs for students’ final collections.
MA Scholarship
The MA Scholarship is open to students accepted on an MA Fashion Design course. The scholarship helps towards course tuition fees with a contribution to course costs or living expenses.
CHANEL MA Scholarship
The CHANEL MA Scholarship is open to students accepted on an MA Fashion Design course. The scholarship helps towards course tuition fees with a contribution to course costs or living expenses and is offered bespoke mentoring opportunities from the Chanel team. Please select this option on the scholarship application form should you wish to apply for this scholarship.
DIOR MEN MA Scholarship
The DIOR MEN MA Scholarship is open to students accepted on an MA Fashion Design course. The scholarship helps towards course tuition fees with a contribution to course costs or living expenses and is offered bespoke mentoring opportunities from the Dior team. Please select this option on the scholarship application form should you wish to apply for.
JOE CASELY-HAYFORD MA Scholarship
Launched in 2023, this scholarship provides support and funding to a student from a Black or mixed heritage background who has an offer from or is currently studying for an MA at a BFC Colleges Council member university and is offered bespoke mentoring opportunities from the Joe Casely-Hayford team. The 2023/24 recipient was Taya Francis (Nottingham Trent University), learn more about her experience in the video below. Please select this option on the sholarship application form should you wish to apply for this scholarship.
COMPETITIONS
Competitions are organised throughout the academic year to offer course leaders and students the opportunity to interact with the industry, gaining invaluable insight and experience in the process, as well as cash prizes for the winner/s and sometimes paid internship opportunities.
Examples from industry partners past and present are: Ahluwalia, British Library, Burberry, Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, DAZED, Givenchy, NET-A-PORTER, NETFLIX, Phoebe English, Pinatex, Stella McCartney, Supriya Lele.
In 2023/24 competitions offered to BFC Colleges Council included:
BFC X BRITISH LIBRARY X AHLUWALIA RESEARCH COMPETITION 23/24
The BFC, Ahluwalia, and the British Library collaborated to emphasise the significance of research in fashion portfolios.
BA and MA Fashion Design and Communication students highlighted overlooked artists and figures, with design students creating a capsule collection and communication students crafting a proposal.
Six finalists were interviewed by an industry panel, culminating in a drinks reception and panel discussion at the British Library, where the winner received a £3000 cash prize.
Dede Arisekola, was announced during the event and received a £3000 cash prize. Through this partnership, Ahluwalia showcased their SS24 Acknowledgement collection during London Fashion Week September 2023 at the British Library for free and the competition was featured across SHOWstudio spotlighting Ahluwalia, the collaboration and the finalists' work.
The shortlist also included: Edmond Karasony (Middlesex University), Reka Somogyi (Manchester Metropolitan University), Ellie Jones (Nottingham Trent University), Upasana Nambiar (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Yashna Ganesh (Manchester Metropolitan University).
Dede Arisekola, Winner of BFC X BRITISH LIBRARY X AHLUWALIA RESEARCH COMPETITION 23/24
DAZED ‘BEYOND BORDERS’ STUDENT COMPETITION 23/24
Dazed partnered with the BFC to provide MA and BA Fashion Design and Communication students a unique opportunity to collaborate on a photoshoot, featured on Dazed Digital; a global platform with a reach of 60 million.
Under the theme 'Beyond Borders,' students submitted creative proposals aligned with the Dazed Autumn 2023 issue. Six finalists participated in the photoshoot at Dazed Studios, where design students produced full looks and comms students handled casting, photography, and art direction.
Additional benefits for students included touch points with Dazed editors and art directors, alongside a complimentary one year Dazed Club Membership.
Dazed editors selected two final winners, Llyr Evans (Central Saint Martins) and Yiting Jiang (University of Westminster), who each received £1,500 each and a bespoke mentoring session with the Dazed team. All finalists were highlighted in the article across Dazed Digital.
The shortlist also included: Anisha Kapoor (Central Saint Martins), Ava Luna Herczeg (University for the Creative Arts Epsom), Elizabeth Parry (University for the Creative Arts Epsom) and Yuping Zhang (Nottingham Trent University).
Yiting Jiang, Winner of DAZED ‘BEYOND BORDERS’ STUDENT COMPETITION 23/24
BFC X NET-A-PORTER & MR PORTER EDUCATION FUND 2024
The NET-A-PORTER and MR PORTER Education Fund is set up to support students at the grass-roots stage of their career. 4 winners have been awarded a cash prize of £12,500 each, plus the opportunity to participate in a bespoke mentoring programme with the NET-A-PORTER’s and MR PORTER’s teams.
Aimed at final year BA students across all BFC Colleges Council member courses, as well as 3 international universities selected by NET-A-PORTER; Parsons School of Design (USA), TAFE (Australia) and ESMOD (UAE),the Education Fund, now in its third year, welcomed MR PORTER to the partnership, a development which allowed additional mentorship opportunities for the winners. Read more about the 2023 Fund HERE and the 2022 Fund HERE.
Flora Mcfarlane (The Glasgow School of Art), Hadisa Ahmad Tabussam (Manchester Metropolitan University), Matthew Empringham (Central Saint Martins) & Renée-Shanel Edwards (University of Westminster) were announced as the winners of this year’s Education Fund.
The shortlist also included: Connie Pedder (Central Saint Martins), Huguette Tchiapi Kameni (Central Saint Martins), Izzy McCormac (Central Saint Martins), Yodea Marquel Williams (Central Saint Martins), Samara Jane Darling (TAFE NSW) and Tiange Fang (Parsons School of Design).
If you’d like to find out more or discuss an idea for a competition, please email: colleges.council@britishfashioncouncil.com
EVENTS AND ACTIVATIONS
The BFC Colleges Council programme runs a series of online and physical events for member universities.
In 2023/24 this included ‘Meet the Industry’ webinars, featuring conversations between editor-in-chief of Elle UK, Kenya Hunt and Creative Director, Stylist & Consultant Karen Binns. As well as a 'Meet the Industry' panel talk chaired by Sarah Mower MBE, Chief Critic, Vogue Runway & BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent and NEWGEN alumni Nasir Mazhar, Paria Farzaneh, and Richard Malone on the influence London culture has on fashion and the role NEWGEN has played over the years.
Each London Fashion Week, BFC Colleges Council members also have the opportunity to apply for a slot on the LFW schedule (show fees apply) or be part of the LFW digital platform.
In June 2024, 24 BFC Colleges Council member universities were spotlighted as part of Graduate Preview, which became a digital activation showcased as part of London Fashion Week.
GRADUATE PREVIEW
Graduate Preview focuses on spotlighting BFC Colleges Council fashion design students to fashion recruiters, industry representatives, course leaders, and designers. It is a showcase of the best emerging talent underpinning the creative future of the fashion industry from across the UK. To provide an equal opportunity for all institutions, Graduate Preview 2024 was open to all universities in our BFC Colleges Council, at no extra cost.
Graduate Preview 2024 moved entirely online, becoming a digital activation and re-launching as part of LFW40 in June, to celebrate 40 years of London Fashion Week. The 40 activities focused on celebrating the creativity, communities and culture that make the UK fashion landscape so unique. Graduate Preview 2024 was spotlighted across the London Fashion Week website, attracting even more BFC networks, creative communities and international audiences, who were able to discover graduates' work.
Visit the Graduate Preview Portal
STUDENT FABRIC INITIATIVE
The BFC Student Fabric Initiative is a deadstock donation project created to encourage the donation of quality fabrics and components to students studying at BFC Colleges Council member universities. This is a charitable initiative that the BFC undertakes on a yearly basis, and comes at no cost to those universities. The purpose is to help students get access to free quality materials and to normalise the use of deadstock as part of their design practice.
Following this, the BFC STUDENT FABRIC INITIATIVE COMPETITION 23/24 takes place, which is aimed to inspire new talent at BA and MA level to think creatively about deadstock and circularity, by using the donations that they received as part of the BFC Student Fabric Initiative powered by The Materialist and donated by British luxury fashion houses.
We want to thank our donors from 2023/24 which included Burberry, Eudon Choi, LABRUM London, Margaret Howell and Nicholas Daley. Jodie Alford (Arts University Bournemouth), was announced as the winner of the competition at the IPF Forum 2024, and received a £2,000 cash prize.
The shortlist also included: Molly Williams Prentice (Edinburgh College of Art), Milena Karcz (Ravensbourne University London) and Eleanor Rose (Royal College of Art).
NATIONAL SATURDAY CLUB
The BFC is a long-term partner of the National Saturday Club (NSC). The NSC offers a free, year-long creative education programme of weekly Saturday classes and national events for 13-16 year-olds from diverse backgrounds across the country, with a particular focus on widening participation. Since 2009, the National Saturday Club has enabled 9,500 13-16 year-olds to study many disciplines at their local university, college or cultural institution on Saturday mornings, creating life-changing experiences for those who have taken part.
Watch a short film about NSC and visit the website to learn more.
As part of this partnership, the BFC organises an industry Masterclass for each of the Fashion&Business Clubs. Masterclasses provide a chance for young people to take part in a one-off session led by industry experts and offer an insight into the fashion industry, spotlighting the various career opportunities available with a joyful and experimental activity during the session. Learn more on the Fashion&Business Saturday Club supported by the BFC HERE.
The 2022/23 programme of masterclasses included sessions with Alexander McQueen, Manolo Blahnik, DAZED, ELV Denim, Richard Malone. Past masterclasses were hosted by GQ, Royal Opera House, Nike, ASOS, WGSN, Butler Archive, i-D Magazine, Rottingdean Bazaar, Apple, and Helen Kirkum.
For any enquiries please email: colleges.council@britishfashioncouncil.com