Dear BFC Community... A Letter from David Pemsel, BFC Chair

Dear BFC Community,

September is important moment in the annual calendar, it sets the tone for trading and business as we enter Q4 and an important moment for the UK creative industries. This is a moment to supercharge the British fashion industry as we focus activity on and around London Fashion Week (LFW), the global platform for fashion, known for showing boundless creativity as a reflection of London’s cultural landscape and creative community. This season feels especially important for our designers and businesses as last September Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral fell during LFW and while all eyes were on London, we were unable to shine the spotlight on our designers and the incredible creative energy in our capital city. Now we are eagerly anticipating this season’s collections and proud to globally amplify what we do best, providing a platform for our creative talent, the superstars (established and new) that give the UK its reputation as a world leading fashion capital.

As set out in June, we want to update you quarterly on what we have collectively achieved and highlight what is coming up. The is laid out under our core pillars below.

The BFC team are laser focused on our strategy to champion British fashion on the world stage and bringing together leading experts to address the things that matter to you, the BFC Community. Our annual programme has been created in response to your feedback and we aim to grow and deepen our programmes to have a positive impact on a cross section of designers at different stages of business. The fashion industry is facing multiple challenges from today’s economic and international trading environment, to striving for carbon reduction targets, grappling with what systems change within the industry looks like to future proof our organisations.  

When you, our community leans in, we can support each other to grow and where necessary tackle the hurdles together.

By Relentless Innovation 
For businesses at all stages to prepare for positive change through embracing innovation. 

British fashion can be a catalyst of change in core commercial and cultural areas of the industry through Diversity Equity & Inclusion; Digital Fashion; and positive Environmental practices through our Institute of Positive Fashion. 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
For many of us we are in the early stages of change and are grappling with embedding programmes for change in our culture, our strategy and demonstrating to our teams the commitment. In order to measure progress and accelerate change we have focused on two pieces of work in this quarter:

• We asked you all to participate in the DEI Fashion Census, we have created this in partnership with The Outsiders Perspective and the Fashion Minority Report. Please share widely with your team and your creative community as we strive to build strong data on the DEI characteristics at all levels in our industry. Without this data we cannot measure change.
• On 13^th September we will launch the 2^nd ‘Diversity & Inclusion in Fashion’ report with The MBS Group. Now in its second year this report looks specifically at leadership across organisations and the adoption of essential DEI strategies at leadership levels.

Digital Fashion

Focused on how the BFC authentically leverage emerging tech to supercharge our strategy and the industry.

• We hosted our first Industry Roundtable focused on AI and its opportunity to support Green Transformation with the support of Accenture. It was attended by BFC Community members Google, Jimmy Choo, Mulberry, New Look, all of whom have incredible insights in this space. The next step is to look at deeper dives on specific topics to build knowledge, partners for change and empower businesses.
• The BFC have commissioned a report with executive search specialists True Search on Digital Fashion: Seizing the Market Opportunity, in which we have interviewed a cross section of the industry to paint a picture of what to focus on now. This will be launched on Thursday 14^th September with a panel discussion hosted by BFC Exec Board Member Ciara Byrne of Condé Nast.

Environment

Following the launch of the world leading Circular Fashion Ecosystem Report in 2020, the Institute of Positive Fashion continues convene stakeholders to transform the industry.

• We have launched the Circular Fashion Innovation Network (CFIN), in partnership with UK Fashion & Textile (UKFT) and UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) to shape an Industrial Scale Change Programme for the UK Fashion Industry to help us not only keep pace but lead in Circularity and Innovation.  This is the most recent IPF programme. To stay informed, register your interest here
• We have also set a target to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of 50 of our members businesses over the next 3 years. This work is funded by the Shared Prosperity Fund, and the broader learning will be shared with all our community.
• The IPF has authored a report with the Future Observatory: ‘Designing the Green Transition’. How sector interventions can enable implementation of a circular fashion ecosystem, specifically in the upstream supply chain which will be available on 21^st September.

By Fuelling Responsible Growth 

We will create connections, insights and advisory opportunities for our dynamic, inclusive, and unified community to come together to collectively support our industry to grow, to prepare for regulation and for talent to gain access. 

• Tax Free Shopping continues to be a significant challenge for our industry. We not only support ongoing campaigns but continue to be part of a small working group to get new data to Treasury to build the case we believe is required to re-instate Tax Free Shopping and in doing so, not only attracting more visitors outside of the EU but being one of the largest economies within Europe to offer Tax Free Shopping to EU citizens.

Member and Patron Events:

• The BFC has supported designers with focused webinars on International Trade: Customs, VAT & the EU Regulation on Sustainability, hosted by BFC Patrons RSM and Mishcon de Reya – Co-organised with IPF Team and Direct-to-Consumer Success (4th September 2023) – Hosted by BFC Patron Tradebyte.
• Thank you to the BFC Patrons who have recently been adding mentoring slots to the BFC Industry Mentor Hub for September, with X25 1:1 sessions having been made available to Designer Members for this month. We invite all Patrons to engage with the BFC Industry Mentor Hub on the Patron Portal, to keep supporting our designer members community.
• Post Fashion Weeks we will be hosting a series of roundtables to hear your voices and shape The Fashion Manifesto, setting out impact of our industry, key areas we will ask all parties to support as we enter the year of our general election next year. 

BFC Foundation:

The BFC Foundation supports our emerging talent programmes.

• In May we were honoured that His Majesty King Charles III announced this year’s designers supported by the BFC Foundation and presented Foday Dumbuya of LABRUM London with the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.
• This year we are proud to celebrate 30 years of NEWGEN with an exhibition at the Design Museum, a content series with Rankin and global media plan. It is even more challenging today to build a highly creative fashion business than in was in 1993.  However, NEWGEN is now the core of British creativity, a platform on which the foundation of global reputation is created, and it is essential that we continue to find more ways to help support the creative talent of the future. 
• The BFC Foundation fundraising continues with thanks to Foundation Co-chairs Tania Fares, Narmina Marandi and the BFC Team.

By Amplifying our Narrative Globally 

We will continue to evolve our platforms to amplify excellence in creativity and its role in the UK’s cultural influence.

This will continue into next year when we celebrate 40 years of LFW. More to come on this, but now we will focus on this supercharged London moment to shine a light on what we do best – the creative energy and community that make London unique:

• The NEWGEN Exhibition, REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion sponsored by Alexander McQueen opens at the Design Museum on 16^th September. Guest curated by Sarah Mower, it celebrates the role of BFC NEWGEN in launching over 300 young designers who have gone on to play their part in the creative industries and lead design houses globally.
• Vogue World takes place on 14^th September.
• London Fashion Week kicks off on 15^th September, with a full schedule of shows, events and celebrations.
• BFC Patron Chanel will launch GABRIELLE CHANEL FASHION MANIFESTO at the V&A South Kensington which is the first retrospective in the UK entirely devoted to the work of Gabrielle Chanel. Opening to the public on 16^th September.
• The Missing Thread at Somerset House explores the stories of Black British fashion in an exhibition curated by the Black Oriented Legacy Development Agency. Opening on 19^th September.
• We anticipate that as usual September’s London Fashion Week will the largest shopping moment outside of December for retail, a boost for hospitality and tourism as well as a great business driver for those able to participate.
• The Fashion Awards, 4^th December 2023, is a celebration of London as Creative Capital and primary fundraiser for the BFC Foundation. We have announced an amazing list of nominees, the British talent that is leading globally this year and voting is live, it will close at the beginning of October with more announcements to follow. We are excited to share plans with you as we reveal our partners soon.

We have unwavering belief in the UK fashion industry, its creative heartbeat and London as a global fashion capital. Our businesses are innovators, challengers and provocateurs and our ambitions are too great to be constrained by the small team at the BFC. We as an industry are stronger as a community and harnessing that strength to collectively do what we all can to contribute to retaining and strengthening our pre-eminent position as creators, innovators and industry trailblazers is vital as we build towards a Fashion Manifesto for 2024. We ask for you to play your part and engage with us as a part of this.

On behalf of the BFC Board, I want to take this opportunity to thank you, our partners, BFC Patrons, BFC Designer Members and the broader BFC Community, without whom this work would not be possible. Over the coming months, there will be more opportunities for us to hear from you, and for you to both find and offer connections, insight and advice as a key member of the British fashion community. We invite you to get involved.

Our mission is to champion British fashion as a creative force on the world stage. We do this by continuing to bolster our pioneering world-class programmes that unlock and elevate creative talent. Our work and success is fuelled by you, an extraordinary diverse and inspiring community of creatives, advocates, icons, experts and fans. 

Welcome to our new BFC Patrons and Designer Members.

Very best wishes,

David Pemsel
BFC Chair