BFC reveals names of first 37 designers to receive support from its Covid-19 emergency fund

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
May 13, 2020

The British Fashion Council (BFC) on Tuesday revealed the names of the first 37 designer brands to receive financial support from its Covid-19 crisis fund.

 
Each one of the British fashion businesses will receive up to £50,000 from the fund, along with mentoring from executives partnering with BFC like LVMH, Lloyds, Farfetch and Instagram. The initial group includes such noted creative houses and designers as Ahluwalia, Chalayan, Charles Jeffrey, Craig Green, David Koma, Liam Hodges, Matty Bovan, Phoebe English, Richard Quinn and Roksanda.
 
The funds will be allotted according to “viable businesses depending on their urgency and capability to come through and thrive post crisis,” the BFC said in a release. A portion of funds will also go to students.

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“Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen an astonishing amount of applications come through from British designer businesses all over the country, asking for help to survive the crisis. The need for support is immense. Our hope is to re-open the fund for future rounds, to help as many businesses as possible, and ensure the future growth and success of the British fashion industry,” said BFC Chief Executive BFC Caroline Rush.
 
The BFC also estimated that up to £100 million will be needed to help protect this decade’s generation of talent over the next 12 to 18 months. The fund will re-open for further rounds of applications so that more meaningful support can be given every time the £500,000 milestone is reached. Donations towards the next round of funding have already been received from Alexander McQueen, Browns, Clearpay and the Coach Foundation. 

 
This round of financing came from pooling the BFC talent support grants that would've normally gone to aid runway shows or business growth, as well as promotion of fledgling brands sourced from NewGen and the Vogue Designer Fashion Fund.
 
BFC also noted that this year’s BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund had already completed its judging process and had exceptionally decided to distribute the award among six nominees: David Koma, Rejina Pyo, Charles Jeffrey, Metier, Michael Halpern and Alighieri.
 
All applicants that did not receive funding through this round will be informed on new rounds of funding, government support schemes and webinars to collectively help businesses in these challenging times. 
 
“While one million pounds of funding is a great start, the scale of the need is much greater and BFC has called on both Government to step in to work with them on significant industry stimulus, and on the industry and individuals to support the BFC Foundation Fashion Fund through donations, so that more businesses can be supported at this time,” the BFC added.