At a reception held at the Royal Academy of Arts this morning, the British Fashion Council announced the latest designers — and it’s packed full with all of our favourites.
Added to the line-up this year are Ahluwalia Studio, Art School, ASAI, Bethany Williams, Bianca Saunders, paria/FARZANEH, Roker and Stefan Cooke, who will receive NEWGEN backing for the first time — an opportunity that includes financial support, business mentoring and showroom space at the Designer Showrooms in Paris.
They will be joining NEWGEN veterans A-COLD-WALL*, Alighieri, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Halpern, Isosceles Lingerie, Matty Bovan, Nicholas Daley, Per Götesson, Richard Malone, Richard Quinn and Supriya Lele, who all continue to receive support.
Meanwhile, this season’s recipient of the ‘NEWGEN ONE TO WATCH’ prize is the Greek-born, London-based designer Eftychia, who we met back in January 2018 as part of i-D’s 1 Granary takeover.
“The UK has a reputation of having some of the best fashion schools in the world as well as the most innovative and creative talent,” said the BFC’s chief executive Caroline Rush. “We are delighted to be able to support many of them from school-level all the way through to established designer businesses through all our initiatives; this further reinforces our reputation as an international hub for creativity, innovation, talent and business.”
And that’s not all: later this week, the BFC will also be announcing the winner of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, for which designers including Charles Jeffrey Loverboy and Wales Bonner are nominated to potentially receive a £200,000 in the kitty to help accelerate their brand’s growth. Stay tuned for more.
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