A-COLD-WALL* Wins 2019 BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund 2019 Supported by JD.COM, INC.

The British Fashion Council (BFC) announced today Samuel Ross, Creative Director of A-COLD-WALL* as the winner of the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund supported by JD.COM, INC. The announcement was made at a cocktail reception hosted by Dylan Jones, Caroline Rush and Kim Jones at Annabel’s, London.
 
The BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund supported by JD.com Inc will award Samuel Ross of A-COLD-WALL* a £150,000 cash prize and 12 months high-level mentoring to accelerate his business and growth and global reputation. China’s largest retailer JD.com Inc. generously supports the BFC/GQ Menswear Fund as part of a two-year sponsorship deal that was announced in September 2018. The fund is the UK’s biggest menswear prize for emerging talent.

COTTWEILER, Edward Crutchley, Liam Hodges and WALES BONNER were shortlisted for the 2019 prize and participated in a mentoring programme where both industry experts and judging committee members provided guidance on topics including, strategic planning, branding, leadership, commercial retail, e-tail and wholesale and digital innovation. 

Dylan Jones OBE, Editor of British GQ and BFC Chair of Menswear commented, “I would like to congratulate Samuel Ross of a A-COLD-WALL*. He demonstrated intelligent design and business acumen during the judging process that propelled him to top of the talent pool and it was a unanimous decision from the judging panel. I look forward to seeing Samuel’s business grow and become the next big international menswear brand.”

Kim Jones, Artistic Director, Dior Men commented, “Congratulations to Sam who I’m sure will become a huge global brand, a British home-grown talent with a global view.”

Caroline Rush CBE, Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council commented, “The judging committee was impressed with the quality of work, thought process and determination of the talented 2019 shortlist. Each designer has a bright future ahead of them. There can only be one winner and Samuel proved to be the strongest candidate with the most comprehensive business strategy and decisive plans on how to use the fund to his best advantage to propel and cement A-COLD-WALL* on the global stage.”

Chaired by Dylan Jones OBE, BFC Menswear Chair and Editor of British GQ, the judging committee is made up of leading industry experts: Alison Lomax, Google; Andrew Maag, dunhill; Ben Banks, Four Marketing; Bosse Myhr, Selfridges; Caroline Rush CBE, British Fashion Council; James Hebbert, Hylink, Kevin Jiang, JD.COM, INC. Kim Jones, Dior Men; Stephen Doig, The Telegraph and Teo Van den Broeke, British GQ. Previous winners include Craig Green, E. Tautz and Christopher Shannon.

Kevin Jiang, President of International Business at JD Fashion and Lifestyle commented, “It is an honour to support the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund. It is an incredible opportunity for an emerging designer in the UK to take that next step and set the right foundations for an international business. We look forward to working with Samuel over the next 12 months through the mentoring programme in which we plan to share our expertise on the Chinese market and assist him in expanding the brand into its next stages.”

The BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund supported by JD.COM, INC. is part of the BFC’s business support initiatives 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 2019 BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund winner will receive a print by fashion artist David Downton.

Guests enjoyed refreshments by CÎROC Vodka.

Sheridans and Lloyds generously support the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund through pro-bono services.

The British Fashion Council Host Fashion Forum, a Thought Leadership Event Focused on Investing in the Future

The British Fashion Council (BFC) concluded the fifth annual BFC Fashion Forum on Tuesday with a key note talk from Edward Enninful OBE, Editor in Chief, British Vogue and Gwyneth Paltrow, CEO & Founder, goop. The event was expanded this year to run over to two days allowing for the second day of the event to focus on Positive Fashion, a key stream of work for the BFC. The overarching theme for this year’s event was ‘Investing in the future’ with content co-curated by innovation consultancy, Current Global, designed to encourage conversation around everything from business growth to sustainability.

BFC Fashion Forum is an annual think tank and thought leadership event that brings together industry leaders from fashion, investment and technology to collectively debate and share knowledge. The event showcases businesses with high growth potential and encourages business connections to generate investment opportunities through networking between the curated list of individuals in design, investment, finance and technology alongside the broader fashion community of digital influencers, entrepreneurs and lawyers.  This highly curated network takes time out of their businesses to join the conversation about how to shape the industry going forward. 

From international expansion and changing business models to technological advances; the topics of day one included ‘Building the next big British brand’, ‘How data and experience are transforming retail’, ‘How new business models are affecting culture’, ‘Working smart, not hard: Driving efficiency in the supply chain’, ‘Managing challenges and driving growth’, ‘Investing in innovation’. Day two focused on Positive Fashion and included topics such as, ‘The role of AI for sustainable supply chains’, ‘Designing for circularity’, ‘Moving the needle: Creating a fair supply chain’, ‘How female leaders can thrive’ and ‘Where sustainable innovation is needed’.

BFC Fashion Forum is hosted by Stephanie Phair, Chairman, British Fashion Council, Caroline Rush CBE, CEO, British Fashion Council and Sian Westerman, President, BFC Business Pillar and BFC Fashion Trust co-chair and is comprised of a series of panel discussions, brainstorms and workshops with speakers which included Chris Morton, Lyst, Christopher Wylie, H&M, Edward Enninful OBE, British Vogue Elizabeth Paton, NY Times, Emma Grede, Good American, Gwyneth Paltrow, goop Henrietta Rix & Orlagh McCloskey, Rixo, Ian Pattison, Google, Jo Ellison, Financial Times, Jo Malone CBE, Jo Malone, Jocelyn Wilkinson, Burberry, John McPheters, Stadium Goods, Michael Beutler, Kering, Nick Molnar, Clearpay, Paul Dillinger, Levi’s, Stuart Ford, The Woolmark Company, Susanne Tide-Frater, FARFETCH and Roland Mouret, Roland Mouret.

The BFC has published two new reports on the fashion industry that were distributed at the BFC Fashion Forum 2019 which are available to download below.

Direct-to-Consumer: A New Model for British Fashion?

How to Scale Designer Fashion Businesses

Key findings from the two days included: 

Brand & Community

Defining your brand values and ingraining them into your business is more important than ever – particularly when looking for investment. The customer is even more discerning, unpicking and understanding what the customer really wants and having dialogue with them is key. It’s important to involve customers in your marketing and product development. If they are part of the process, they will love the product even more.

The Retail Mix 

The Highstreet isn’t dead, translating the brand from online to physical stores is more important than ever. Brands must focus on store experience rather than just the transaction; customers want a physical space to engage with brands. Direct to consumer has seen a lot of growth recently and has built a number of businesses quickly. However, don’t rule out wholesale – with a good partner it can generate valuable brand awareness.  

Culture 

In the early days it is important to co-create culture with your team and adopt a co-created code, it can’t be a mandate – that is how you get your employees to buy in. Workplaces need to adapt so they work for everyone. Workplaces need to make everyone feel included – a diverse workforce will equal a better representation of the customer. Diversity is not just for marketing and PR it should be across the whole business and represented by the team businesses employ.   

Change 

The industry is responsible for making a change. Fashion is great at storytelling and we should use the platform we have to educate. The younger audience is key – we need to listen to them and give them what they want. There is so much to do but bigger brands can help make changes that smaller brands can benefit from. Act now, don’t wait. 

Positive Fashion 

Positive fashion and sustainability initiatives are an imperative from an ecological and consumer stand point. The case is being made for the circular economy and while there is a way to go there are many initiatives exploring how to effect meaningful change. The Fashion industry needs to come together as a whole, with the largest companies driving the initiative – self regulation and incentives for good actions are preferable to legislation which might not deliver the right outcome
The British Fashion Council would like to thank event partners, Clearpay, Current Global, DHL, The Bicester Village Shopping Collection, The Ned and The Woolmark Company and our masterclass and workshop hosts, ConsenSys, Fashion For Good, Accenture, Powerfront, Quibit, Shopify, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Innovate UK and Verisium.  Thanks goes to the BFC Fashion Trust for curating the closing talk.

The Innovation Space curated by Current Global: CLO Virtual Fashion, CoGo Connecting Good, Heuritech, Hologrm, MERCAUX, MOBIRY, OBSESS, Powerfront Inc, QUBIT, Reflaunt, Shopify, Social Vend, SYTE and Verisium

Fashion Forum 2019 Topics and Speakers

Opening Keynote
Victor Luis, CEO, Tapestry, Inc. in conversation with Jo Ellison, Fashion Editor, Financial Times  

Building the Next Big British Brand 
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Sian Westerman, Senior Adviser, Rothschild & Co and President of Business and Investment Pillar, British Fashion Council 
David Belhassen, Founder & Managing Partner, Neo Investment
Frederic Court, Managing Partner, Felix Capital
Karen McCormick, Chief Investment Officer, Beringea LLP

Working Smart, Not Hard: Driving Efficiency in the Supply Chain
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Lauretta Roberts, Managing Director & Editor-in-Chief, The Industry London
Alex Valdmann, Creative Director, Rapha
Laura Culligan, Director of Innovation, Strategy & Operations, Burberry

Keynote
Jo Malone CBE, Founder & Creative Director, Jo Loves in conversation with Rachel Arthur, Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Current Global

Blockchain Applications for the Creative Economy - Presented by ConsenSys 
Masterclass
Vanessa Grellet, Executive Director, ConsenSys

The People Puzzle: How New Business Models Are Affecting Culture 
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Moira Benigson, Founder, The MBS Group
Chris Morton, CEO, Lyst
Garbhan O’Bric, Group President, Ridley Scott Creative Group

Driving Loyalty Through One-to-One Personalisation - Presented by Qubit 
Workshop
Leah Anathan, Chief Marketing Officer, Qubit
Michael Manby, Team Lead, Qubit

Current Global: Investing in Innovation 
Presentation
Rachel Arthur, Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Current Global

Love the Way you Pay – Starting up a Fashion Payment Platform – Presented by Clearpay
Masterclass
Nick Molnar, Founder & CEO, Afterpay (Clearpay)

How Luxury Leaders like Gucci Deliver High-End Customer Experience Online - Presented by Powerfront
Hadar Paz, CEO, Powerfront

Business Success Stories – Managing Challenges & Driving Growth 
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Rosanna Falconer, Brand Consultant and Co-Founder, FashMash  
Clare Hornby, Founder & Creative Director, ME+EM
Henrietta Rix & Orlagh McCloskey, Co-Founders, RIXO
Misha Nonoo, CEO & Creative Director, Misha Nonoo

The Store of One: How Data and Experience are Transforming Retail 
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Maghan McDowell, Innovation Editor, Vogue Business
Gareth Pope, General Manager, Lululemon EMEA
Ross Bailey, CEO, AppearHere
Susanne Tide-Frater, Chief Consultant Augmented Retail, Farfetch and Browns

Closing Keynote
John McPheters, Co-CEO & Co-Founder, Stadium Goods in conversation with Liz Bacelar, Co-Founder & CEO, Current Global 

Day Two

Sustainable Fashion Roundtable by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Innovate UK
Roundtable 
Lynda Petherick, Head of Retail, Accenture UKI
Alison Robinson, Director of Corporate Affairs, NERC
Tom Fiddian, Creative Industries Lead, Innovate UK

Emma Grede, Co-Founder & CEO, Good American in conversation with Funmi Fetto, Contributing Editor, British Vogue 
In Conversation

Designing for Circularity 
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Kirsty McGregor, Deputy Editor, Drapers
Christopher Raeburn, Creative Director of RÆBURN and Global Creative Director of Timberland
Francois Souchet, Lead, Make Fashion Circular, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Stuart Ford, General Manager, Western Hemisphere, The Woolmark Company

Moncler Case Study: Improving Loyalty and Value with Blockchain – Presented by Verisium
Masterclass
Eldar Khayretdinov, Co-Founder, Verisium 
Vadim Kostomarov, Co-Founder, Verisium

The Future of Circular Fashion: Assessing the Viability of Circular Business Models - Presented by Fashion For Good and Accenture
Masterclass
Brittany Burns, Strategy Lead, Fashion For Good
Daniel Newton, Sustainability Consultant & Author, The Future of Circular Fashion: Assessing the Viability of Circular Business Models
Harry Morrison, Managing Director, Accenture Strategy & Sustainability

Roland Mouret and Arch & Hook Talk Sustainable Solutions in the Fashion Industry 
In Conversation 
Roland Mouret, Creative Director, Roland Mouret
Sjoerd Fauser, CEO & Founder, Arch & Hook

The Role of Technology for Sustainable Business 
Panel Discussion 
Moderator: Liz Bacelar, Co-Founder & CEO, Current Global
Christopher Wylie, Research Director, H&M
Thomas Berry, Director of Sustainability, Farfetch

Moving the Needle: Creating a Fair Supply Chain
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Sarah Kent, Senior Correspondent, The Business of Fashion 
Jocelyn Wilkinson, Responsibility Programme Director, Burberry
Mary Creagh, Member of Parliament for Wakefield & Chair, Environmental Audit Committee 
Michael Beutler, Sustainability Operations Director, Kering

Levi’s on the Promises and Perils of Sustainability
In Conversation 
Moderator: Elizabeth Paton, European Styles Correspondent, The New York Times 
Paul Dillinger, Head of Global Product Innovation, Levi Strauss & Co

Current Global: Where Sustainable Innovation is Needed
Panel Discussion 
Claire Bergkamp, WW Sustainability & Innovation Director, Stella McCartney
Ian Pattison, Head of Cloud, Google
Maria McClay, Senior Industry Head, Luxury Fashion, Google
Rachel Arthur, Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Current Global

How Female Leaders Can Thrive 
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Kenya Hunt, Deputy Editor, ELLE  
Chantal Khouiery, Chief of Culture, Value Retail
Sharmadean Reid, Founder & CEO, BeautyStack and WAH Nails
Sian Westerman, Senior Adviser, Rothschild and Co & President of Business and Investment Pillar, British Fashion Council 

Closing Keynote in collaboration with BFC Fashion Trust 
Gwyneth Paltrow, CEO & Founder, goop in conversation with Edward Enninful OBE, Editor-in-Chief, British Vogue 

Naomi Campbell to be Honoured with the Fashion Icon Award at The Fashion Awards 2019

The British Fashion Council is delighted to announce that Naomi Campbell will receive the Fashion Icon Award at The Fashion Awards 2019, on Monday 2nd December at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Naomi Campbell will be recognised for her incredible contribution to the fashion industry, her world-renowned career as a supermodel, as well as her philanthropist work with charities and incredible efforts for a more diverse and equal future, especially in Africa. The Fashion Icon Award is one of the Special Recognition Awards that celebrate outstanding contributions to the fashion industry.  

Caroline Rush, BFC Chief Executive commented: “We cannot think of a more deserving recipient than iconic Londoner Naomi Campbell, she has achieved exceptional work in the industry. Naomi represents female empowerment, activism and glamour and her voice is used for great impact. We are thrilled to present The Fashion Icon Award to Naomi and acknowledge her for her remarkable contribution to the global fashion industry and we look forward to celebrating with her in London in December”

Born in London, Naomi Campbell’s career started at an early age. Discovered by an agent after school in Covent Garden, Campbell was the first black model to cover French Vogue in 1988, the first black model to be on the cover of American Vogue's September issue in 1989, the first black model to appear on the cover of TIME magazine, Russian Vogue as well as the first British black model to appear on the cover of British Vogue. She has since graced the covers of over 500 magazines. Today, with over 30 years in fashion, Campbell remains an unstoppable force and has starred in iconic campaigns for some of fashion’s most distinguished brands including Burberry, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Balmain, Ralph Lauren, Prada, Valentino and Versace. 

Naomi Campbell’s numerous achievements are not limited to fashion alone. Throughout her career, she has become known for using her success to help those in need through her incredible work with fundraising and charity work across the globe. Naomi Campbell began charity work with Nelson Mandela in 1993, and in 1997 he named her “Honorary Granddaughter” for her endless activism. In 2018, Naomi Campbell had the honour of presenting a tribute to the independence leader, who would have turned 100, at the 2018 Global Citizen Festival in NYC. Naomi also made a passionate and emotional speech at Winnie Mandela's funeral, calling her “a woman of strength who endured much hardship and sacrifice”. In 2013, Naomi Campbell launched the Campaign “Diversity Coalition” with the aim to address racism in the fashion industry. 

Naomi Campbell is not only known for being one of the original supermodels but also for being a global figure, and one of the most influential people on the planet. Her passion for female empowerment and Africa has seen her headline the 2019 Forbes Woman Africa’s Leading Women Summit and her ongoing mission to elevate and connect African designers with the global fashion community has seen her co-produce this year’s Arise Fashion Week in Lagos, Nigeria.

In 2005, Naomi Campbell founded Fashion for Relief, a charity merging fashion and philanthropy. Born in London, Fashion for Relief was one of the first fundraisers with an aim to help people affected by the disastrous floods that hit the UK in the summer of 2007. The fundraiser was supported by people including Elle MacPherson, Novak Djokovic, Jane Fonda, Sting, Dame Vivienne Westwood, Faye Dunaway and the Duchess of York, in aid of the Rotary Flood and Disaster Appeal for Great Britain.  Since that day, Fashion for Relief has spread its wings to embrace global causes, raising millions in aide of disaster relief such as the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the Haiti earthquake, Hurricane Katrina and child refugee crises, to name only a few. Fashion for Relief has been staged all around the world, from New York to Dar Es Salaam and the South of France. This year, Fashion for Relief will return to its roots, with a catwalk during London Fashion Week September 2019.

Previous awards received by Naomi Campbell include the Glamour Award for Outstanding Contribution in 2006, a Special Recognition Award at the British Fashion Awards in 2010, the Glamour Award for TV Personality in 2014 and most recently the Fashion Icon award at the 2018 CFDA Fashion Awards. 

The Fashion Icon Award is one of the Special Recognition Awards that celebrate outstanding contributions to the fashion industry at The Fashion Awards. The Fashion Awards is the main fundraiser for the BFC’s charitable and talent support work. The BFC is a not for profit organisation focused on promoting excellence in British fashion and supporting the future pipeline of creative talent. The BFC’s work is achieved through a range of charitable initiatives which focus on education, business and mentoring schemes that support talent from school level and emerging designers to fashion start-ups and established brands. In 2018, the BFC raised over £2.3 million for its charities and business support initiatives out of which £1.1 million will be allocated directly to scholars and designer businesses with the remaining monies building an endowment to secure support for future generations.

Tonight's announcement was kindly hosted by the Ritz London. The generosity and commitment of our sponsors is more vital than ever. Please help us by acknowledging our Presenting Sponsor Swarovski and Official Sponsors American Express, Getty Images and Lavazza Coffee for their support of the Fashion Awards 2019. 

Tables and boxes for The Fashion Awards 2018 are on sale. For more information please email fashionawardstable@britishfashioncouncil.com or FashionAwardsBox@britishfashioncouncil.com or 
General tickets for The Fashion Awards 2019 are available via are available via Ticketmaster from the 26th June.

General tickets for The Fashion Awards 2019 are available from the 26th June. American Express customers have access to an exclusive pre-sale available now on Ticketmaster. 

The Model Zone January 2019

The British Fashion Council runs The Model Zone as part of the Model Health Programme and to ensure the well-being of models during London Fashion Week (LFW) and London Fashion Week Men’s (LFWM).

The Model Zone is a private space for use by the models taking part in the catwalk shows and presentations during the event. It offers models a dedicated space to eat, drink and relax in between shows. Look out for Model Zone posters backstage, providing the location and further details on The Model Zone.

The Model Zone will be open from 5th- 7th, 12am – 6pm on Saturday 5th, 11am-6pm on Sunday 6th and 11am-5pm on Monday 7th. A schedule of sponsor activity will on the posters backstage and available from agencies.

This season at the Model Zone we will be featuring the following:

Ace Hotel London Shoreditch 

Ace Hotel London Shoreditch hangs its hat in London's most creative, engaged district — a locus for creative culture, home of the world famous open-air market on Brick Lane and a canvas for street artists the world over. The neighbourhood's legacy includes theatres running banned 16th century plays, the debut of drag pioneer Hetty King and the first rumbles of industrialized craft in the Western Hemisphere. Today's Shoreditch is a leader in art, design, cuisine, culture and technology — an outpost in the global community of ideas. We're proud to be able to weave 

Find out more: www.acehotel.com/

WELEDA

What started in 1921 as a pharmaceutical laboratory, with its own plant garden, is today a world-leading manufacturer of certified natural by NATRUE personal care.
Responsible dealings with both nature and people have always formed part of our business, ever since Rudolf Steiner articulated his vision of a company completely at the service of human beings and the world as a whole. Whether it’s through fair trade, biodynamic cultivation or the supportive development of our employees – sustainability is part of our roots.
Weleda will be offering complimentary massages and facials at the Model Zone.

Find out more: www.weleda.co.uk/ @weledauk

OTHER CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS: DASH, EVIAN, KIND, EMBER, MAYOR OF LONDON, PROPERCORN

Contact details:
Email: models@britishfashioncouncil.com
Phone: +44 (0) 207 759 1996
Mobile: 077 6608 3597 (During LFW)

Read our Model Guide created by the British Fashion Council, AMA and Storm below.

LFWM January 2019 Opens Tomorrow

The 13th edition of London Fashion Week Men’s (LFWM) launches tomorrow as a celebration of discovery and the creative diversity that has made London an international hub for menswear. The bi-annual showcase of the most creative and innovative names in the fashion industry takes place throughout the city from Saturday 5 - Monday 7 January 2019 and features over 40 designer businesses showcasing their latest collections. Celebrating London’s diversity, LFWM is a three-day city-wide celebration of creative talent, welcoming guests from over 35 countries.

Today, the British Fashion Council is delighted to announce new data for the menswear fashion industry:

Mintel estimates that consumer spending menswear has grown 5.1% to reach £15.9 billion in 2018.

Menswear now accounts for 26% of the total clothing market, whilst womenswear accounts for 51%

Consumer spending on clothing is forecast to rise 25% to £76 billion in the next five years to 2023

Mintel, 2018

During a time of uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the creative sector is growing faster than any other sector in the UK economy and provides one in six jobs in London (london.gov.uk 2018). In 2019, London continues to stay one of the most culturally rich cities in the world, with world-class institutions and globally renowned talent, LFWM celebrates the diversity of our capital through an industry that directly contributes £32.3billion to the UK in GDP and employs 890,000 people (Oxford Economics 2018).
Over a quarter of our LFWM designers are non-British with representation from Europe 12.5% and rest of world at 15%, nationalities include Danish, Swedish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese and Emirati.

This January the hub of LFWM will be at a new location, the Truman Brewery, in the heart of London’s East End, located close to the home of many of our British designer businesses. Saturday and Sunday’s shows will be located around the East End and Monday’s schedule will be focused around central London. From music and art to creative communities and fashion, the LFWM schedule is a unique mix of catwalk shows, presentations, DiscoveryLAB, Designer Showrooms and events which will shine a light on the depth and breadth of our creative industry. 

CRAIG GREEN, three-time winner of British Designer of the Year Menswear at the Fashion Awards in partnership with Swarovski, will present a catwalk show on Monday. All Fashion Awards 2018 British Emerging Talent Menswear nominees feature on the LFWM schedule. ART SCHOOL will kick-start the weekend with their first on schedule catwalk show on Saturday morning while British Emerging Talent Menswear winner A-COLD-WALL* will show on Monday. COTTWEILER, Kiko Kostadinov and PHOEBE ENGLISH will also be showing over the weekend. 

The BFC’s NEWGEN initiative will see London’s brightest emerging menswear designers showcase their AW19 collections. Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, Liam Hodges and NEWGEN One to Watch: Paria Farzaneh will host catwalk shows and Nicholas Daley will host a presentation. NEWGEN One to Watch: Bianca Saunders will host a presentation at 5 Carlos Place alongside visiting designers Boramy Viguier and Ludovic de Saint Sernin who will be showing a sneak preview of their latest collection ahead of Paris Fashion Week.

From British heritage to emerging labels and vibrant streetwear brands, this season pays homage to the ever-expanding creativity of the capital through a packed schedule of shows, presentations, installations and events. Returning to the schedule with catwalk shows are Alex Mullins, Astrid Andersen, Bobby Abley, Chalayan, E.Tautz, Edward Crutchley, Fashion East, ICEBERG, JOHN LAWRENCE SULLIVAN, Kent & Curwen, Oliver Spencer, Per Götesson, PRIVATE POLICY presented by GQ China, PRONOUNCE, Qasimi, RÆBURN, Sharon Wauchob and Xander Zhou while Band of Outsiders, Barbour, Belstaff, Bethany Williams, Lou Dalton, Michiko Koshino and Wood Wood will host presentations. New to the LFWM schedule this season we welcome C2H4, DANSHAN, DELADA, Feng Chen Wang, JORDANLUCA and Studio ALCH.

The DiscoveryLAB will see presentations in the experiential space from Adam Jones, Lou Dalton, Omar Afridi, PHOEBE ENGLISH, Saul Nash and St. Henri. Adam Jones, Omar Afridi, Saul Nash and St. Henri collections will be on display in the Designer Showrooms following their presentations. The NEWGEN Pop-up Showroom will showcase collections from Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, Liam Hodges, Nicholas Daley and Per Götesson
In 2019, the BFC continue to focus on their Positive Fashion initiative, a platform designed to promote and celebrate diversity, sustainability and openness; encouraging fashion to be used as a platform to promote a global positive change #PositiveFashion. Presentation and catwalk designers Bethany Williams and RÆBURN are showcasing Positive Fashion collections this season. Bethany Williams as with every season has produced a collection from recycled and organic materials, utilizing waste product from Clay’s book manufacturing in Suffolk. She has taken this book waste to San Patrignano in Italy and worked alongside the community to weave fabrics mixed from book waste, waste from San Patrignano and donated pre-production waste from mills in Italy. San Patrignano is an education and rehabilitation programme for people with drug dependency that teaches traditional Italian craft and a sense of community. RÆBURN will continue his pioneering work of re-using military fabrics and de-commissioned parachutes to create iconic outerwear.
In the Designer Showrooms, Adam Jones will showcase his up-cycled fabrications reminiscent of punk, using beer mats, vintage tea towels, blankets and ribbons pieced together and PHOEBE ENGLSIH shows her latest collection which is entirely ‘made in England’. Ahluwalia Studio launched by London-born Priya Ahluwalia a 2018 graduate from the MA Menswear Course at The University of Westminster and the winner of the H&M Design Award 2019 will be doing an installation in the Designer Showrooms highlighting her dual Indian-Nigerian heritage and exploring the life of second hand and dead stock clothing, using textile techniques to give them new life.

The generosity and commitment of our sponsors is more vital than ever. Please help us by acknowledging their support for LFWM 2019 - Official Sponsors: British GQ, Mercedes-Benz, Radisson Blu Edwardian London, TONI&GUY, and Official Suppliers: DHL, evian, Fashion and Beauty Monitor, Getty Images, Launchmetrics, Penhaligon’s, Propress and Warsteiner Lager; Official Supporters: The Department for International Trade, The European Regional Development Fund and The Mayor of London.

Bethany Williams to Receive the 2nd QEII Award for British Design at London Fashion Week

On Tuesday 19th February 2019, Bethany Williams will be presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen at London Fashion Week.

The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design was initiated in recognition of the role the fashion industry plays in society and diplomacy and the movement of young designers that are both talented and making a difference to society through either sustainable practices or community engagement. The inaugural award was announced and presented to Richard Quinn in February 2018 when Her Majesty made her first visit to London Fashion Week.  This year’s chosen designer demonstrates both value to the community and strong sustainable practices. 

Caroline Rush CBE, CEO, British Fashion Council commented: “The UK is known for its world-class creative emerging talent, and many of the new generation of talent are embedding sustainable or social impact within their businesses from the start. Bethany is an incredible example of this generation of designer and we are delighted to work with the Duchess of Cornwall this year on behalf of Her Majesty to highlight her work through this Award as another very special moment at London Fashion Week.”

Bethany Williams champions social and environmental causes and challenges perceptions with a perspective that is a true representation of what positive fashion means. Over recent seasons she has partnered with charities supporting social change across women’s empowerment, homelessness, successful rehabilitation of offenders back into society, improving literacy amongst the most vulnerable in society and education programmes teaching skills and creating employment for those with the most limited opportunities and prospects. 

Bethany has an ongoing relationship with TIH models, a modelling agency that supports youth in London who have been affected by homelessness; casting them in campaigns and fashion shows at market standard rates. 

Balancing this with her commitment to positive environmental change and practices Bethany Williams combines these social programmes with the development of new textile manufacturing techniques using materials often discarded as waste within traditional textile manufacturing facilities, recycled materials, and finding innovative ways to repurpose waste product into new usable textiles spanning industries from publishing and printing, wine bottling and tenting. 

Bethany Williams’s partnerships with organisations in these fields is a commitment to giving back. A sizeable percentage of profit from the wholesale and distribution of her work is returned to these partners to help further their work and put resources where they are needed most at the foundations of a sustainable and equal society.

The Award itself was designed by Angela Kelly, inspired by the Queen Elizabeth rose, and was hand-produced by Lucy Price at Bauhinia Studios and in Birmingham's famous jewellery quarter.

BBC Earth, British Fashion Council and Mother of Pearl celebrate Positive Fashion at London Fashion Week

Adwoa Aboah, Amy Powney, Dame Anna Wintour, Bethany Williams, Betty Bachz, Caroline Rush CBE, Charli Howard, Clara Paget, Doina Ciobanu, Elizabeth Saltzman, Felicity Hayward, Frances Corner, Jackie Lee-Joe, Kate Foley, Jess Cartner-Morley, Lady Amelia Windsor, Laura Jackson, Linsey Schuyler, Liz Bonnin, Martha Ward, Mike Gunton, Niomi Smart, Odessa Parker, Rob Jones, Roberta Einer, Sophie Brocart, Tony Liu, Victoria Magrath and Zara Martin

London, 16 February – This evening the British Fashion Council celebrated their Positive Fashion collaboration with BBC Earth and Mother of Pearl with a cocktail reception and film preview at Spencer House.

Liz Bonnin, science and natural history presenter welcomed guests and introduced Caroline Rush, British Fashion Council CEO and Jackie Lee-Joe, Chief Marketing Officer for BBC Studios followed by the premier of a short film commissioned by BBC Earth from BBC Studios award-winning Natural History Unit on the tangible opportunity for sustainable fashion choices and mindful consumer behaviour. Amy Powney, Creative Director of Mother of Pearl closed proceedings with a heartfelt speech on the importance of collaboration.

To view and embed the film please visit:

BBC Earth: http://www.bbcearth.com/sustainable-me

BBC Earth YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoiU8sprXpQ&feature=youtu.be

Caroline Rush, CEO, British Fashion Council said "At the British Fashion Council we recognise that now more than ever is a time to highlight the importance of pursuing Positive Fashion in the industry and keep it at the top of everyone’s agenda to drive change."

Jackie Lee-Joe, CMO BBC studios added: “Through BBC Earth we’re able to reach a global audience who care deeply about our planet and want to understand how the choices they make can impact the natural world. Fashion plays a big part in all of our lives and our film celebrates this creativity whilst demonstrating how informed fashion choices can help create a more sustainable future.”   
    
Amy Powney, Creative Director, Mother of Pearl said "I’m thrilled to be working alongside two iconic British institutions to help inspire positive change. Sustainability is so close to my heart and it is so encouraging to see so many people who share this passion.”

Editors’ Notes

The British Fashion Council are delighted to be working with BBC Earth, BBC Studios global factual brand in a partnership to discuss Positive Fashion.  In the first event of its kind, this collaboration brings together the global reach of BBC Earth and the influence of fashion through a BBC Earth x British Fashion Council x Mother of Pearl talks series with industry visionaries and thought leaders at London Fashion Week.

The focus of the talks was centered on the impact the fashion industry has on the planet while highlighting positive opportunities for sustainable fashion choices. 

BBC Earth today launch #SustainableMe as a follow up to the collaboration with the British Fashion Council and Mother of Pearl. #SustainableMe has launched across all of BBC Earth’s digital platforms with a global reach of 12 million people inviting people to make a #SustainableMe pledge on social media and commit to being a more mindful consumer. This coincides with the premiere and launch of BBC Earth’s short film created by BBC Studios’ award-winning Natural History Unit that shows how the natural world inspires creativity, addressing the impact that fast fashion is having on the health of our planet and demonstrating how a change in our attitudes towards consumption can help to create a more sustainable future for our planet.      

For full information on the British Fashion Council’s Positive Fashion initiative visit https://www.britishfashioncouncil.co.uk/About/Positive-Fashion