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BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund 2021 winner revealed

Tom Bottomley
05 May 2021

The British Fashion Council (BFC) has today announced Bethany Williams as the winner of the 2021 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund (BFCVDFF).

Established in 2008, the fund highlights and celebrates exceptional talent, and empowers businesses to play their part in positive growth through bespoke mentoring. As the winning designer, Williams receives a cash prize of £200,000 allowing her to take her business to the next level.

Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue and Chair of the fund committee, Edward Enninful, said: “Congratulations to Bethany Williams for receiving the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund for 2021. Bethany is an extraordinary talent who brings a depth to her process that is nothing short of inspirational.

“On top of her substantial gifts as a designer, she has rethought the way her collections are made, working with women who are homeless or in prison, among others, using her business to bring training and support. She really is a marvel.”

The other designers shortlisted for the 2021 prize were Alighieri, ASAI, Chopova Lowena, Completedworks, E.L.V. Denim, Halpern, Kwaidan Editions, Olubiyi Thomas, Richard Malone and Supriya Lele.

All shortlisted designers receive a full mentoring programme through the BFC’s Business Support team, with access to funders and industry experts. The fund receives the generous support of British Vogue, Burberry, Clearpay and Paul Smith, and this year the BFCVDFF was open to all gender collections and/or accessories.

Chief Executive of the BFC, Caroline Rush, added: "Bethany’s brand is a real example of a sustainable and conscious business and, as a designer, she is constantly finding new innovative design solutions to sustainability.

“All shortlisted designers deserved the prize, but the judging panel was particularly impressed by Bethany’s exceptional talent for using recycled deadstock and organic materials made in the UK and her ways of collaborating with communities and charities, aiming to shape the industry towards thinking more ethically. I cannot wait to see her business grow even more.”

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