The British Fashion Council (BFC) and Harper’s Bazaar today announce the launch of the ‘BFC / Bazaar Fashion Arts Foundation’, at Shoreditch House, a new initiative that aims to inspire and support collaboration between fashion and the arts.
The Fashion Arts Foundation aims to nurture collaborations and foster relationships between fashion, film, music and art talent. Through this strategy the BFC aims to highlight London’s position as a leading creative capital and re-affirm our fashion industry’s reputation for innovation.
The Foundation has already announced a partnership with BAFTA which will see a series of events to bring together fashion and film talent. The initiative will also see the appointment of Alison Edmonds as the Foundation’s British ambassador in Los Angeles, to further cement our international presence.
A dedicated music strategy in partnership with Sony Music will cultivate commercial opportunities for designers, musicians and retailers. A series of biannual collector’s edition CDs, under the collective banner of ‘The Collection – London Fashion Week’, will be launched during LFW. Each CD will feature a different designer. The first in the series has been musically and artistically curated by Burberry’s Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey. It will be released on Monday 20th September and will retail on iTunes and in high end fashion retailers including high end fashion/design outlets including Browns, Cruise, Matches and START.
The collaboration with Sony will also see them hosting a series of Live Sessions at Tom’s Terrace, Somerset House, throughout London Fashion Week, as well as showcasing the talents of Sony signed DJ collective, Magnetic Man, at the Fashion Arts Foundation launch party at Shoreditch House. Later in the year, the label will run a series of creative brainstorm sessions to bring together emerging designers and Sony’s creatives. Sony will also be providing the playlists for LFW this season that will played throughout Somerset House.
The Fashion Arts Foundation will be driven by a committee of trustees chaired by Lucy Yeomans, editor of Harper’s Bazaar UK. As the exclusive media partner, Harper’s Bazaar have also pledged to provide additional support, including fundraising assistance. The committee will be charged with scoping out a project to celebrate fashion and the visual arts for 2012.
Lucy Yeomans, editor of Harper’s Bazaar, said “I am thrilled to be a co-founder of this exciting new project. The Foundation's aims resonate perfectly with all that Harper's Bazaar stands for - bringing together the best creative talent from diverse fields and giving them the support and means to dream up and produce exciting new work.”
Caroline Rush, Chief Executive of the British Council, said “The BFC / Bazaar Fashion Arts Foundation will allow us to showcase London’s creative fashion industry and showcase its many influences to their full potential. We will be working with both emerging and established talent across many exciting new projects which can only strengthen our creative industries as a whole.”
The BFC/Bazaar Fashion Arts Foundation is one of the key legacy projects established by the BFC in its 25th year celebrations, to ensure the continuing success of British Fashion.
Soho House Group will be supporting the Foundation by developing a 3-year programme to internationally promote fashion as part of cultural Britain. As an epicentre for creative industries, it seemed a natural fit for Soho House to play host to the BFC / Bazaar Fashion Arts Foundation partnership events. The first of these will take place today (9 September) with the BFC in Shoreditch House, a renovated warehouse in London’s East End, a perfect space for the innovative industries of fashion, film and music to come together. Future initiatives will see further collaborations through member events, ranging from pop up boutiques, talks with industry heavy weights, fashion showcases and styling suites, both in the UK and abroad.
The Foundation would like to thank Spring Studios for their creative director and help producing the introductory film that will be show at Shoreditch House this evening.
www.britishfashioncouncil.com/fashionartsfoundation
Image: Lucy Yeomans (Editor, Harper's Bazaar) Ged Doherty (Chairman & CEO of Sony BMG Music Entertainment UK & Ireland), Caroline Rush (CEO, British Fashion Council)