British Fashion Council announce Fashion Forward winners

The British Fashion Council (BFC) today announced three new womenswear designers have been awarded Fashion Forward support sponsored by eBay Fashion and endorsed by the Mayor of London for two consecutive seasons, autumn and winter, this year.

Fashion Forward is a scheme established in 2009 by the BFC to provide support for UK designers. It allows designers to show their collections at London Fashion Week and extend their businesses. The winners are decided by key industry representatives such as Caroline Issa, Paula Reed and Sarah Mower.

The scheme has proved successful, as evidenced by previous winners such as Christopher Kane, Erdem and Marios Schwab who are now leading names in the British fashion industry.

This year’s winners are:

David Koma: holds a BA and MA in Art and Design from Central Saint Martins. He takes his cultural influences from art and this season we can see themes from music.

Holly Fulton: studied at Edinburgh College of Art and The Royal College of Art. Her signature styles include graphic prints, luxurious materials and hot accessories.

Michael van der Ham: a Netherlands-born designer, Michael graduated with an MA in fashion at Central Saint Martins. This collection will bring us couture fabrics and shapes, and deconstruction details.

BFC CEO Caroline Rush commented: “David, Holly and Michael are three very worthy recipients of the 2013 Fashion Forward scheme. We have seen them grow through the NEWGEN scheme and are pleased to see their businesses progress to the next level of Fashion Forward sponsorship. We look forward to seeing their collections at London Fashion Week in February.”

We are also eagerly awaiting London Fashion Week to see what these new, talented designers will bring.

Lauren Johnstone
Photos: Courtesy of British Fashion Council

Watch a short clip for Fashion Forward Womenswear 2013 here