ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
In order to be considered for the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund applicants should meet the following criteria:
- Applicants should have an established designer fashion business that has been actively trading for a minimum of 3 years, at the time of applications closing (8th December 2023).
- The applicant's collection should consist primarily of womenswear and/or womenswear accessories. All gender collections are eligible. Collections should not primarily consist of menswear, bridalwear or childrenswear.
- The applicant’s company should be based in the United Kingdom and registered with Companies House (not sole trader).
- The applicant's company should be majority-owned by the Creative Director/Designer (No less than 75% of the business is owned by the Founder(s)/Designer(s) and immediate family).
- Applicants should have a minimum of 10 international and UK stockists and/or sell direct-to-consumer. (DTC-only brands should have been trading via their own ecommerce or social media channels for at least 2 years and have minimum £100,000 annual sales).
- Applicants should be able to demonstrate support from both UK and international media.
- Applicants can apply up to 5 times.
- The award can only be won once, but applicants can reapply if they have been shortlisted previously and not won.
- Applicants currently in NEWGEN first year or second year are not eligible to apply. Only brands currently in their third year of NEWGEN can apply. Brands that have never been in NEWGEN must adhere to 3+ years in business criteria.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Applications will be reviewed against the following areas:
- Creative merit: demonstrate a strong aesthetic and point of difference.
- Contribution of brand and designer to UK fashion ecosystem and how they have given back with their time/resources.
- The level and quality of stockists both international and UK; and/or proven direct-to-consumer sales channels.
- The level and quality of international and UK media recognition.
- The applicant’s ability to demonstrate a clear vision on how the Fund will contribute to the long-term viability of their business.
- Applicants who produce fashion shows should be showcasing at London Fashion Week.
- The applicant’s demonstration of how they are addressing the three pillars of Positive Fashion: Environment, People, and Community & Craftsmanship, and compliance with the IPF Minimum Standards as set out in the application form.
- Quality and completeness of application form.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications are now closed.
Applicants are asked to submit the following information with their application:
- Company information
- Look book from the last two collections
- Latest press book
- Two industry referees (buyer and/or press)
- Financial information (1. Financial Summary Template, 2. Cash flow template)* Click here to download the guidelines. If you are having problems downloading the financial templates please click here. The prize money is £150,000, please use this figure when filling out the cash flow template, as explained in the guidelines.
- Most recent end of year accounts (PDF)
- A short statement on how you are addressing the three pillars of Positive Fashion: Environment, People and Community & Craftsmanship
- Plan for the development of your business
*If you are having trouble downloading the excel documents, please try the following steps:
-Hard refresh your browser.
-Clear your cache.
-Open the webpage on another browser for example chrome, firefox, safari.
Applicants who fail to complete the form correctly and supply all requested information will be removed from the process.
Applicants will be asked to complete equal opportunities information about their business, their staff and themselves; this information will be kept on file for internal use only and will not form part of the judging process.
JUDGING PROCESS
- Applications will be reviewed and shortlisted by a judging panel chaired by a representative of British Vogue and CEO of the British Fashion Council, Caroline Rush CBE, alongside industry experts and funding representatives.
- Applicants will be informed if they have been shortlisted in February 2024.
- The Shortlist will be interviewed by the Fund judging panel in March 2024.
For inquiries please contact:
bfcvoguefund@britishfashioncouncil.com