The British Fashion Council (BFC) is pleased to announce that its charitable initiative BFC Fashion Trust has awarded grants totalling £450,000 between eleven designers; the largest donation by the trust to date. New recipients for 2017 are Edeline Lee, Georgia Hardinge, Isa Arfen, Sharon Wauchob and Teatum Jones. Previous recipients who continue to receive funding this year are Eudon Choi, Fyodor Golan, Huishan Zhang, Marques’Almeida, Osman and Rejina Pyo.
The BFC Fashion Trust was founded in February 2011 to offer selected designers mentoring and financial support to promote the art and business of fashion. As part of the structured mentoring programme in 2017 designers will benefit from legal advice from Taylor Wessing, and Livia Firth and her team at Eco-Age will be mentoring on sustainability and industry best practice. The philanthropic programme is developed in partnership with Co-chairs Tania Fares and Sian Westerman, along with the BFC, and the Fashion Trust Advisory Committee.
Tania Fares and Sian Westerman said: “Supporting the development of such a strong group of designer businesses reflects the core aim of the BFC Fashion Trust, and is the most rewarding part of the initiative. We are incredibly proud of what the BFC Fashion Trust, with the help of its wonderful members and partners, has achieved so far and look forward to continuing to nurture the incredible pool of talented designers in the UK.”
Caroline Rush CBE, CEO British Fashion Council, commented: “The generosity of the BFC Fashion Trust supporters is always remarkable, and I am delighted that we are able to support these eleven deserving designers for the year ahead. By providing financial as well as mentoring support the BFC Fashion Trust continues to help secure the future stability of these designer businesses in contributing to our growing industry.”
In addition to the grant awards, the BFC Fashion Trust operates a Graduate Traineeship Programme which offers graduates 12-month paid placements with a British based designer. The programme has the dual benefit of allowing graduates to gain insight and experience and for the designer’s business to benefit from additional support. Previously partnered brands include E.Tautz, Erdem, House of Holland, J.W.Anderson, Mary Katrantzou and Roksanda Ilincic.
Since its inception in 2011 the BFC Fashion Trust has awarded over £1.5m to 33 designer businesses to help with critical business support such as developing websites, ecommerce platforms and bricks & mortar stores. The BFC Fashion Trust is part of a group of BFC business support initiatives and charities aimed at supporting British designers and businesses from school level to emerging talent, and future fashion start-ups through to new establishment and global brands.
The BFC Fashion Trust would like to thank Megha Mittal, Founder Patron, for her generosity in hosting the BFC Fashion Trust Grant Recipients event at her home. The BFC would also like to thank Carmen Busquets for her generosity, support and time as the BFC Fashion Trust Benefactor and to all of those who generously support the Fashion Trust.