BRITISH FASHION COUNCIL AND EBAY ANNOUNCES
‘BFC CONTEMPORARY’ INITIATIVE AND RECIPIENTS
Today, the British Fashion Council (BFC) and eBay announces the launch of an exciting new initiative, BFC Contemporary, sponsored by eBay.
BFC Contemporary aims to strengthen the UK’s contemporary ready-to-wear and accessory offering by providing fashion designers with a programme that delivers mentorship and offers strategic commercial opportunities.
The British Fashion Council and eBay will work closely with the selected designers to support and build their strategies, focusing on brand concepts, production, budgets, scalability, online and offline growth and consumer experience. The mentoring sessions will be tailored to the needs of each designer including access to pro-bono expertise from industry specialists.
The new scheme has been created in response to increasing demand for worldwide contemporary fashion. The participants were selected for their creative excellence, commercial potential and originality in the contemporary arena.
The 2014 BFC Contemporary recipients are:
Alexis Barrell
Georgia Hardinge
Paper London
Prism
Zoë Jordan
As part of the launch season, each designer will create a limited edition item that captures the essence of their signature aesthetic. To celebrate London Fashion Week these items will be sold in a limited edition run, on the first ever BFC Contemporary shop on eBay.co.uk to 18 million shoppers this September. The BFC Contemporary shop will be located within the new Fashion Collective destination on eBay.co.uk; a dedicated space that hosts a wide selection of clothing, shoes and accessories, directly available from a variety of recognised retailers and brands.
Caroline Rush, CEO British Fashion Council commented: “We are delighted to support and help accelerate the growth of these very viable fashion businesses. Each of the inaugural BFC Contemporary designers possess incredible creativity and strong brand concepts. With invaluable support from eBay, these designers mark a new wave in British contemporary design, the rise of which we aim to fuel with this new initiative.”
Melanie Smallwood, head of curation and merchandising, eBay commented: “We are very proud to be partnering with the British Fashion Council this season, to launch this exciting new initiative. BFC Contemporary reflects eBay’s ongoing commitment to support emerging design talent, assisting the recipients in fulfilling their business ambitions. The first ever BFC Contemporary Shop on eBay.co.uk will provide a fantastic platform to showcase British Contemporary designers to eBay.co.uk’s 18 million shoppers.”
This is the second time the BFC has partnered with eBay. In 2012, eBay sponsored the BFC’s Fashion Forward initiative, which supported designers including Holly Fulton, House of Holland, Louise Gray and Mary Katrantzou.
The inaugural designers were invited to apply by the BFC and eBay however in 2015 official applications will be open to all designers looking for BFC Contemporary support.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
For BFC Contemporary press enquiries please contact:
Sophie McElligott, British Fashion Council, +44(0)20 7759 1986 sophie.mcelligott@britishfashioncouncil.com
For eBay press enquiries please contact:
Zarah Leaman, Exposure, +44(0)20 7907 7149 zara@exposure.net
‘Like’ British Fashion Council on Facebook for exclusive content www.facebook.com/britishfashioncouncil
Follow us on Twitter @londonfashionwk and join the conversation #LFW
About The British Fashion Council
The British Fashion Council (BFC) was set up in 1983 to promote British fashion internationally and co-ordinate this promotion through fashion weeks, exhibitions and showcasing events. The BFC now supports designers beginning at college level and extending to talent identification, business support and showcasing schemes to help British designer businesses develop their profiles and business globally and promote British fashion and its influential role in Creative Britain and Creative London. The BFC Colleges Council offers support to students through its MA Scholarship, links with industry through Design Competitions and Graduate Preview Day. Talent identification and business support schemes include the BFC Fash/On Film sponsored by River Island; BFC Rock Vault, BFC Headonism, BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund; BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund; Estethica; BFC Contemporary sponsored by eBay; NEWGEN sponsored by TOPSHOP and NEWGEN MEN sponsored by TOPMAN. Showcasing initiatives include London Fashion Week, London Collections, LONDON show ROOMS, the BFC/Bazaar Fashion Arts Foundation, International Fashion Showcase and the annual celebration of excellence in the fashion industry: the British Fashion Awards.
About eBay Inc
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global commerce and payments leader, providing a robust platform where merchants of all sizes can compete and win. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. connects millions of buyers and sellers and enabled $205 billion* of commerce volume in 2013. We do so through eBay, one of the world's largest online marketplaces, which allows users to buy and sell in nearly every country on earth; through PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive digital payments; and through eBay Enterprise, which enables omnichannel commerce, multichannel retailing and digital marketing for global enterprises in the U.S. and internationally. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.
* This adjusted number reflects decision to remove vehicles and real estate GMV from ongoing total GMV and ECV metrics (previously stated ECV for 2013 was $212 billion, incorporating vehicles and real estate GMV).