The British Fashion Council (BFC) announces that designers Christopher Kane, Erdem and Marios Schwab will receive British Fashion Council’s Fashion Forward sponsorship for the third consecutive season.
The scheme, supported by the London Development Agency, was established three years ago to provide funding for talented emerging British designers. This second stage scheme was introduced to give a further tier of support for the most promising designers as they emerged from NEWGEN. The award consists of a financial prize, to be used towards producing an on-schedule catwalk show at London Fashion Week, along with access to business support, from supporters including Baker Tilly and Shoosmiths, which provides them with knowledge required to further develop their businesses.
Previous winners include Giles Deacon, Jonathan Saunders, RichardNicoll, Sinha-Stanic and Roksanda Illincic. This season’s recipients, despite being relatively new businesses, have already garnered a following of international influencers and are sold in directional stores and boutiques here in the UK and internationally. In 2006, Christopher Kane launched his own label with his sister Tammy (collaborator and business partner) and has gone on to build his label into a major player in the high-fashion world. Now in its seventh season showing as part of London Fashion Week his collections are renowned for their contemporary, progressive vision and the label is a key contributor to trends.
On receiving the sponsorship, Christopher said "I am thrilled to have been awarded Fashion Forward by the BFC. This will be my 7th show at London Fashion Week and without its support I would not have had the ability to have presented the show in the way that I would want. I am especially thankful to have the BFC’s support on the 25th anniversary of London Fashion Week as it has allowed me to reach the widest international audience possible which is invaluable to the growth of my business.” Erdem was launched in 2005 by Erdem Moralioglu and his designs have won plaudits for their fusion of sharp tailoring with romanticism and bold, graphic, custom-designed silk prints. His A/W 09/10 show was one of the top ten shows of the season as chosen by style.com. Erdem said “I’m so thankful to have won Fashion Forward from the BFC. Being able to show at London Fashion Week is integral to the brand and with this sponsorship, we are able to showcase our brand in an ideal manner.”
Marios Schwab has been credited with leading the body-conscious fashion movement with his figure hugging feminine dresses since his label launched in 2005. Marios has recently been appointed Creative Director at Halston and will present his first collection for the brand in February 2010. He will be showing in September for the ninth time as part of LFW, on receiving the Fashion Forward sponsorship this season Marios commented, “I am very happy to be backed by Fashion Forward for a third season, it gives me great stability and encouragement for my business”.
Caroline Rush, Joint Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council commented, “The British Fashion Council’s Fashion Forwardscheme plays a key role in building designer brands in London. This season’s winners were amongst the London based designers who led the world fashion media headlines last season for their innovation. The BFC is proud to continue to offer support to these outstanding talents.”
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