LONDON – The British Fashion Council has revealed the latest crop of Fashion Trust winners, who will receive financial investment and specific guidance to help build “resilient, future-facing” businesses in an increasingly difficult climate for commerce in the U.K.
The winners are Clio Peppiatt, Conner Ives, Nicholas Daley, Paolo Carzana, Patrick McDowell and Tolu Coker, all of whom are familiar faces at London Fashion Week, either on the runway or in the organization’s presentation spaces.
This year’s recipients were selected by a panel chaired by Caroline Issa, BFC board member, CEO and fashion director at Tank. The panel included Barbara Campos, CEO of Joseph; Narmina Marandi, co-chair of the BFC Foundation; Neil Clifford, CEO of Kurt Geiger; and Richard Johnson, chief business officer at LuxExperience.
Laura Weir, CEO of the BFC, said that “as part of our strategy BFC 2030: Access, Creativity, Growth, we have refined the BFC’s prizes and programs, and are committed to support that is focused, meaningful and delivers measurable impact.”
She added the BFC Fashion Trust remains “a vital part of that commitment, demonstrating the value of sustained, strategic support for British fashion businesses. We are proud to support this year’s recipients as they strengthen and scale for their next chapter.”
The organization said Winston Taylor, BFC Fashion Trust legal partner, provided pro-bono legal services to recipients.
Founded in 2011, the BFC Fashion Trust is a grant-giving program under the BFC Foundation. It is aimed at supporting designers at pivotal stages of growth through financial investment and tailored industry guidance to help build and future-proof businesses.
The BFC said that since its inception, the Fashion Trust has supported 59 designer businesses with more than three million pounds in funding via the BFC Foundation. The funding and support has helped those designers scale operations across merchandising, e-commerce, production and sampling.
Earlier this year, Weir unveiled “BFC 2030: Access, Creativity, Growth,” a 64‑page strategic plan that aims to rewire how the BFC raises and deploys capital, and to shift it from a largely IP‑led, event‑driven body into what she calls “the industry’s incubator.”
Weir has also pledged to grow the BFC’s gross annual revenue by 38 percent to 18 million pounds by 2030, reflecting an 8.4 percent compound annual growth rate.
