We celebrate the 2023 recipients of the British Fashion Council Foundation talent support and initiatives, as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.
£1.1m was paid by the British Fashion Council Foundation during the last year as part of the British Fashion Council’s ( BFC ) grant giving initiatives including scholarships and talent support schemes BFC NEWGEN, BFC/GQ Designer Fashion Fund, BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund and BFC Fashion Trust. In the financial year 2022/2023, the BFC remitted over £1.2m in funds to designers and scholars.
This year the charity has supported 39 designers and a number of students through financial support grants and mentoring.
The winners are:
BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund Winner
BFC Designer Member 16Arlington is the winner of the 2023 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund along with the designer Marco Capaldo. Celebrations continued at an event hosted by Edward Enninful and Sabrina Elba with key industry figures and celebrities including Pixie Lott, Ellie Goulding and Birdy.
BFC Fashion Trust
The 2023 BFC Fashion Trust recipients are Chopova Lowena, Fruity Booty, Molly Goddard, NEOUS, PĪFERI and Richard Malone.
The BFC Fashion Trust is a charitable initiative that empowers positive business growth by supporting specific projects through financial grants and mentoring.
BFC/GQ Designer Fashion Fund
The winner of 2023 BFC/GQ Designer Fashion Fund is Wales Bonner. The designer and founder of Wales Bonner, Grace Wales Bonner will receive a 12-month bespoke high-level business mentoring programme, pro-bono legal services from Sheridans and a cash prize of £100,000.
Adam Baidawi, Head of Editorial Content, British GQ & Deputy Global Editorial Director, GQ commented, “It is an honour to present this year’s BFC/GQ Designer Fashion Fund to Grace Wales Bonner, an electrifying talent with a razor-sharp vision. Grace is rearchitecting the very notion of what a luxury fashion house is – and who luxury is for. She is the total embodiment of modern creativity: ambitious, collaborative, and global. We honoured Grace at GQ’s Global Creativity Awards earlier this year, and we’re proud to once again recognise, support and celebrate what she and her team are building.”
Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design
Congratulations to BFC Member LABRUM London who is the recipient of The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design this year. King Charles III presented the award to founder and creative director Foday Dumbuya during an event at 180 Studios in London.
The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design was initiated in recognition of the role the fashion industry plays in society and diplomacy and to spotlight talented young designers who make a difference to society through either sustainable practices or community engagement.
BFC NEWGEN
The 2023/24 winning recipients of BFC NEWGEN including 6 BFC Members are:
*AARON ESH I ANCUȚA SARCA I Chet Lo I Conner Ives I *DERRICK I DI PETSA I EFTYCHIA I FEBEN I HARRI I HELEN KIRKUM I *Kazna Asker I LABRUM London I Leo Carlton I MASHA POPOVA I Paolo Carzana I ROBYN LYNCH I S.S. DALEY I SAUL NASH I Sinéad O’Dwyer I *The Winter House I *TOLU COKER I yuhan wang
*newest 2023 recipients
by Kim Grahame
photo King Charles lll presents the Queen Elizabeth ll Award for British Design to Foday Dumbuya creative director of LABRUM photo courtesy of BFC
