"This year’s shortlist is an excellent demonstration of the breadth of fashion talent in this country. Any one of them will be a worthy recipient of funding that is specifically designed to help their business in a very targeted way so that it can grow into a greater role on the global fashion stage. I congratulate all of the shortlisted designers for the tenacious creativity that has got them to this point."
Alexandra Shulman OBE,
Editor of British Vogue and Chair of the Fund Committee.
The Fund was established in 2008. The new format for 2017 provides up to three designers with a bespoke, high level mentoring support programme over a twelve month period, as well as a shared £200,000 grant to provide necessary infrastructure to take them to the next stage in their business.
Huishan Zhang, Osman, Shrimps, Sophie Hulme and Toogood were shortlisted for the 2017 prize. They were invited to present their collections and five year business plans to the Fund judging committee, which is chaired by Alexandra Shulman and made up of industry experts.
Mother of Pearl and palmer//harding were the recipients of the 2017 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund.