British Fashion Council

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British Fashion Council
Formation6 January 1983;40 years ago (1983-01-06)
PurposePromote British fashion in the UK and internationally
Headquarters33 Broadwick St, London W1F 0DQ
LeaderCaroline Rush
Website British Fashion Council
Manish Arora designs at London Fashion Week 2007 Manisharora4.jpg
Manish Arora designs at London Fashion Week 2007
Gareth Pugh fashion at London Fashion Week 2006 Garethpugh9.jpg
Gareth Pugh fashion at London Fashion Week 2006

The British Fashion Council (BFC) is a non-profit organization that aims to enable sustainable growth of British fashion in the global fashion economy. [1] Founded in 1983, the BFC organizes biannual womenswear and menswear showcases, London Fashion Week (LFW) and London Fashion Week Men's (LFWM) to promote "the best of British design" to an international audience.

Contents

Leadership and activities

Based in London, the British Fashion Council (BFC) is currently chaired by David Pemsel. Pemsel was appointed in September 2022, succeeding Stephanie Phair who held the position for four and a half years from May 2018. [2] [3] Since 2009, Caroline Rush CBE has been the organization's chief executive officer. [4] Previous Chairs of the BFC have included Natalie Massenet, Edward Rayne, Nicholas Coleridge CBE, Harold Tillman, and Sir Stuart Rose. [5]

In May 2018, BFC appointed former England football team captain, David Beckham, as its new Ambassadorial President. [6]

2020 saw a number of organizational changes within the BFC, including four new appointments to its board of directors on 4 September. [7] The newly appointed directors; Jamie Gill, June Sarpong, Scott Morrison and Sian Westerman joined the remaining board membership of Stephanie Phair (chairperson), Dylan Jones, Caroline Rush, Laura Strain, and David Pemsel. [8]

The Council created a new committee entitled the Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee on 16 September 2020. [9] [10]

In November 2020, the BFC presented Indian actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas with the new title of ambassador for Positive Change. [11] The new BFC role was created with the aim to use fashion as a ‘source for good’, to raise awareness of best practices within the industry including affirming principles that support inclusivity and positive ethics. [12]

Joining other technology companies and fashion brands, Rakuten added its name to the list of BFC Patrons in 2021. [13]

Development of the organization

LFW Carousel LFW Carousel.jpg
LFW Carousel

The British Fashion Council (BFC) was established in 1983 as a non-profit limited company. [14] Prior to the establishment of a single body to promote the interests of the British fashion industry, there were a number of organizations that existed to promote different interests within British fashion. These included:

Events

The BFC's primary event is London Fashion Week, a bi-annual London-based fashion show held routinely each February and September. The trade show typically showcases the work of over 250 international designers and engages a worldwide audience. The fashion week is organized by the BFC alongside other organizations. [19]

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the BFC announced that its 2020 February trade show would be held as a digital-only event. All event attractions, from the launch of the week on Friday 14 February 2020, were presented to a global audience online. [20] [21] The event production crews, designers, models, and teams were assisted by Westminster Council with rapid Covid testing to ensure the success and safety of the event. [22] Princess Anne followed in the Queen’s footsteps to present a special award at the event. [23] The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design was awarded to Rosh Mahtani who was commended for the craftsmanship of her jewellery. [24]

During the February 2020 Fashion Week, the BFC announced its scheme to enable one young designer to show their collection before a virtual audience. The new initiative was made possible in collaboration with MTV. [25]

Following its February virtual showcase event, [26] the BFC announced that it was to merge the Men’s Fashion Week into a new and single, "gender-neutral" event. [27] [28]

Coronavirus Foundation Fashion Fund

In response to the global pandemic restrictions and its move to showcasing fashion virtually, the BFC began to advocate increased support for fashion freelancers experiencing hardship and business disruption. The British government were encouraged to put further policies in place to protect those being negatively affected. [29]

Later in March 2020, the council launched its first coronavirus relief fund, committed to supporting those in the industry. [30] The crisis relief fund aims to raise £50 million for struggling designers. [31]

In May 2020, the Foundation Fashion Fund announced its first recipients of the £1,000,000 emergency fund. The fund was split between 37 different UK recipients. [32]

The Black in Fashion Council

In response to the global reaction to the George Floyd tragedy and the Black Lives Matter protests, the British Fashion Council chief called upon the industry to take further action against racism. [33]

The fashion industry was called to account for its longstanding cultural appropriation and lack of diversity, which led to a partnership of 38 organizations generating the Black in Fashion Council, including the British Fashion Council. [34] [35]

As part of its individual response to the Black Lives Matter movement, the British Fashion Council launched its own project celebrating Black British culture and fashion. The project included a variety of programmed events, concluding with an exhibition showcasing the work in the summer of 2022. [36]

Awards, nominations and prizes

See also

Related Research Articles

TheFashion Awards, known as the British Fashion Awards until 2016, is an annual ceremony established in the United Kingdom in 1989 to showcase both British and international individuals and businesses who have made the most outstanding contributions to the fashion industry during the year. The ceremony is organized by the British Fashion Council, and is the primary fundraiser for the BFC's Education Foundation; a charity that promotes excellence in design by financially supporting students with the ability and potential to make an exceptional contribution to the fashion industry.

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The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessory designers. The organization promotes American designers in the global economy.

Davit Komakhidze known as David Koma is a Georgian fashion designer based in London, England.

Damaris Alice Turle Evans is a British fashion designer who founded the lingerie brands Damaris and Mimi Holliday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalie Massenet</span> American businesswoman

Dame Natalie Sara Massenet, is a British-American fashion entrepreneur and former journalist, who founded the designer fashion portal Net-a-Porter. From 2013 to 2017, she was the chairman of the British Fashion Council. In 2018 alongside Nick Brown, she co-founded Imaginary Ventures and became non executive co-chairman at Farfetch.

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Mary Katrantzou is a Greek fashion designer who lives and works in London.

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Nicholas Matthew Schneidau Kirkwood is a British footwear designer. He lives in Bethnal Green, London.

Zoe Jordan is an Irish fashion designer. She studied architecture and business before embarking on a career as a bond trader in New York for HSBC and later an equity sales-trader at Credit Suisse. After years on Wall Street, she left the world of finance behind in order to pursue her real passion, fashion design. Her eponymous brand launched in London in 2011 and went on to be winner of several awards.

Nabil El-Nayal, more commonly known as Nabil Nayal is a Syrian-born British fashion designer. He moved to England at the age of 14 and has won awards including the Royal Society of Arts Award, the Graduate Fashion Week 'Best Womenswear' Award and the British Fashion Council MA Scholarship Award.

Emilia Wickstead is a New Zealand fashion designer based in London, England. In 2014 she won the Red Carpet Designer of the Year Award at the Elle Style Awards, and her clients include Samantha Cameron, and the Princess of Wales.

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Sophie Hulme is a British accessories designer who studied Fashion Design at Kingston University. Hulme graduated in 2007, and won awards for both student and collection of the year. The designer launched her own label in 2011. Hulme's studio is in Islington, North London.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tania Fares</span> Lebanese fashion writer and philanthropist

Tania Fares is a Lebanese fashion writer based in London with homes in Lebanon and Los Angeles, United States. In 2011, she founded and co-chaired, with Sian Westerman, the BFC Fashion Trust, a charity supported by the British Fashion Council. In 2018, she co-founded Fashion Trust Arabia with her co-chair, Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, which supports fashion designers in the MENA region. In 2021, she became a co-chair of the BFC Foundation alongside Narmina Marandi. In 2022, Tania co-founded Fashion Trust U.S. alongside Laura Brown, Anne Crawford, Tan France, Samira Nasr and Karla Welch.

Palmer Harding, stylized as palmer//harding is a London based international fashion brand known for women’s shirting created by fashion designers Levi Palmer and Matthew Harding. The designer duo met while studying at Central Saint Martins in 2007, launching their brand after graduation in 2011 as part of the NewGen initiative provided by the British Fashion Council. Palmer Harding has gained a presence by dressing notable women such as Michelle Obama and former Prime Minister Theresa May. They were recipients of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund in 2017.

Anna Jewsbury is a British fashion designer and artistic director of London-based accessories brand, Completedworks.

Orsola de Castro is an upcyclist, fashion designer and author. She is the co-founder and creative director of Fashion Revolution, an activism movement which works towards a sustainable fashion industry. De Castro has been in the sustainable fashion space for more than 20 years, since founding upcycling brand, From Somewhere, in 1997.

Samuel Ross is a British product and fashion designer, creative director and artist. He is known for founding the fashion label A-COLD-WALL* and working with brands such as Apple, Hublot, Off-White, Oakley, Nike, and Barney's.

Rahemur Rahman. is a British-Bengali artist and fashion designer known for his significant contributions to the British-Bengali diaspora and innovative use of traditional Bengali block printing techniques through his eponymous menswear label. Rahman is known for his focus on sustainable and ethically produced garments and is the first Bangladeshi fashion designer in history to showcase their work at London Fashion Week.

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