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On a clement, early April afternoon – the first to really conjure a sense of spring’s awakening following a dreary winter – we find ourselves in a chicly severe boardroom just off Holborn – the sort that feels familiar from, say, Industry, if not from firsthand experience. The seriousness of the setting befits the occasion, though – here, a coterie of the British fashion industry’s most senior figures have gathered for the judging day of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, where they’ll decide on which of five UK-based design talents – Conner Ives, Dilara Findikoğlu, Dimitra Petsa, Edeline Lee and Talia Byre – will take home a £150,000 grant, as well as an invaluable mentorship package.
Despite the high stakes, the mood among the shortlisted designers remains buoyant, coloured by anticipation rather than apprehension. “I’m here, and I’ve got my corporate look on for the occasion,” jokes Findikoğlu, sporting one of her trademark figure-skimming suits. “Even though I’m quite an eccentric, creative person, I also really love being a businesswoman and talking about all the aspects of my brand. I’ve always drawn so much from being a rebel, or being seen as an underdog, in a way. But being here makes me realise the power in never giving up, and how good it feels to be recognised and taken seriously.”
“Just being nominated is so exciting,” echoes Byre, another of this year’s final five. “It’s amazing to be here, and I can already see the changes that making it here has made. People are starting to take notice of my work more.”
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The bubbling excitement, however, doesn’t distract from the significance of the task at hand: to convince a panel that includes the likes of outgoing BFC chair Caroline Rush, incoming chair Laura Weir, British Vogue contributing fashion editor Harry Lambert, and British Vogue’s own Chioma Nnadi, Laura Ingham and Julia Hobbs why their burgeoning businesses represent compelling cases for significant investment. “Being on the panel is never an easy task, and each of this year’s candidates was so different from the next, presenting really different proposals for what they would do with the prize money,” says British Vogue contributing editor Alexa Chung. “And moreover, they were each so compelling, which has made the choice a very difficult one in the end.”
The weight of the responsibility is only accentuated by the notoriously hostile climate that today’s independent Britain-based designers face. “It’s obviously such an honour to be part of the panel, but, more than just an exciting moment, it’s also an opportunity to really hear from designers – to hear the challenges they face and to understand what it means to run a business today,” says Nnadi, British Vogue’s head of editorial content. “You only have to look at the news to know how difficult it is at the moment. That makes these kinds of initiatives invaluable, offering a lifeline to designers – not just through investment, but also mentorship and a spotlight.”
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So, what of the premises of the designers’ pitches for this lucrative opportunity? For Dimitra Petsa, the founding creative director of Di Petsa, it was all about highlighting the significant efforts that her brand has made to establish itself as an industry-wide champion of diversity. “It’s an ethos that’s really at the heart of the business – we work on a made-to-order basis, eliminating barriers with sizing. I also explained how, if I were to win the prize, I would expand on our menswear, which we debuted last season.”
Dilara Findikoğlu spotlit her intentions to funnel the investment into the expansion of her existing operation, as well as into a number of top secret projects currently in the works, while Edeline Lee, a designer who, over the past decade, has built a business with a fully integrated production infrastructure, highlighted how the fund would facilitate the expansion of its direct-to-consumer operations.
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For Byre and Ives, their intentions were to distribute the funds across the breadth of their businesses. “I wanted to get across our key challenges at the moment, which are mostly centred around production, product and marketing and reach,” noted Byre, a sentiment echoed by Ives: “I applied for the fund on the basis of investing in the most lucrative parts of the business: our e-comm, but also our private client and demi-couture business. I wanted to highlight that this money would help us to grow, but also just to do our jobs better, which is going to be essential going forward.”
After extensive deliberation, a decision on the winner of this year’s BFC/Vogue Fashion Fund was reached, with the prestigious award going to Conner Ives. “This is such a benchmark for me,” Ives says, shortly after learning of his win, “and also the most incredible cosign. Operating a fashion brand right now can feel quite uphill – you’re up against so much as a young designer. Knowing that the people you really look up to and respect are telling you that you re doing something right – and that they want to give you a chance – is so rewarding. I’m incredibly grateful, and this is also a reminder of the opportunity and the honour that I have in doing this job. It may sound very cliché, but I get to live my dream.”
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While Ives may be the deserving recipient of this year’s fund, in their ensemble, this year’s cohort are an assured testament to the calibre of emerging creative talent that still calls London home, in spite of the glut of gloomy headlines. “We have some incredible creatives here, and we need to nurture them as we’ve never needed them more,” said model and panellist Alva Claire. “We’ve got so many people that are actually saying something with their work – and London has always been the place where that’s what we do. And when you see the level of artistry that came through the door, it’s incredible. There’s couture being made in Dalston and that is incredibly exciting.”
“This year’s finalists prove that there’s so much hope for London,” echoes stylist and Vogue contributing editor Ib Kamara. “The kids are still so creative, and we have the potential to bring up the next generation of brands that are going to shape the face of fashion. The talent is still here, and it won’t go away. They just need more support.”
The evening of the announcement, Conner s success was toasted in the plush penthouse suite at Fitzrovia’s EDITION hotel, where industry leaders, big name designers and pioneering emerging talents all gathered to raise coupes of fizz to commemorate the achievements of the designer, and, more broadly, the contemporary vanguard of British talent he s part of . Hosted by British Vogue Head of Editorial Content, Chioma Nnadi, outgoing BFC CEO Caroline Rush, and incoming BFC CEO Laura Weir, the cocktail was attended by the likes of Tish Weinstock, Maxim Magnus and Alexa Chung. See the pictures from the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund cocktail here.