London Fashion Week to receive £2 mn government funding

During the REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion sponsored by Alexander McQueen event at the Design Museum recently, the Culture Secretary confirmed £2 million in funding for British Fashion Council (BFC) Newgen designers to showcase at London Fashion Week. The funding, earmarked earlier this year in the Creative Industries Sector Vision, will be spread across five fashion weeks over two years.



Through the Newgen programme, the BFC offers designers showcasing opportunities and mentoring from industry experts so they can build and sustain their businesses. This year celebrates 30 years of Newgen, which has given some of fashion’s biggest names their big breaks, including Ahluwalia, Alexander McQueen, Erdem, Grace Wales Bonner, JW Anderson, Martine Rose, Roksanda, Saul Nash and Simone Rocha, BFC said in a media release.



BFC chief executive Caroline Rush said: “It is fantastic that for the first time the British Fashion Council will receive a direct grant from DCMS similar to Film and Music to support the next generation of designer talent. Newgen is an essential R&D programme for the global industry and central to the BFC strategy to celebrate British fashion on the world stage.



Culture secretary Lucy Frazer said: “Our fashion industry is world famous for its unrivalled creativity, innovation and producing some of the world’s most influential designers - that’s why it’s a priority sector for economic growth. The Newgen scheme has kickstarted the careers of some of our best UK-based designers who are making waves in the fashion world, and I’m delighted this funding will help the next crop of British fashion talent build businesses that can thrive for years to come