The British Fashion Council has announced today the fifteen emerging designers who will receive NEWGEN support for 2017/18. In its new format, sponsorship will be now awarded annually to both menswear and womenswear designers who will show at either London Fashion Week Men’s or London Fashion Week.
NEWGEN is a BFC initiative that supports the very best emerging talent and aims to build global, high end fashion brands of the future. The scheme offers designers financial support and showcasing opportunities. The BFC, with support from the NEWGEN committee, will deliver individual mentoring and business training to assist the designers as they develop their business infrastructure and skills. NEWGEN designers are identified by their creativity, strong design aesthetic and point of difference. – from BFC
To be able to select NEWGEN for both womenswear and menswear side by side this year has given the scheme a panoramic overview of London’s strength as a centre-point of young innovation. We have all been energised to see a surge of diverse talents from so many backgrounds whose focussed individuality inspires us. It’s a privilege to be able to join with so many mentors from the UK industry who volunteer to join together to put these designers on the proven fast-track to recognition and business success. – Sarah Mower MBE, BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent
Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, Halpern, Nicholas Daley and Richard Malone will receive NEWGEN support for the first time this year, in addition to existing NEWGEN designers COTTWEILER, Kiko Kostadinov, Liam Hodges, Phoebe English MAN, Marta Jakubowski, Molly Goddard, Paula Knorr, Sadie Williams and Wales Bonner who all continue to receive support. ‘One to Watch’ support has been awarded to Richard Quinn, who will be given exhibition space in the LFW Designer Showrooms at The Store Studios this September.
The new format of our NEWGEN initiative allows the BFC to be flexible in the support it offers emerging designers, and recognises the changing nature of fashion business and showcasing models. We want to empower these designers to build and strengthen their brands in close alignment with their creative vision. I am delighted as ever to welcome this year’s new designers to the initiative. – Caroline Rush CBE, Chief Executive British Fashion Council
See the awarded designers after the jump:
artwork by @barbaracreative
