January 8th, 2019, London, UK
The British Fashion Council (BFC) is delighted to announce the launch of the 2019 BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund supported by JD.com Inc, a £150,000 cash prize with 12 months high-level mentoring to accelerate the winner’s business and grow its global reputation. Caroline Rush, CEO British Fashion Council and Dylan Jones, Chair of Menswear and Editor in Chief of British GQ hosted a reception at Annabel’s Private Member’s Club to celebrate the re-start of this incredibly important menswear fund and to officially open applications.
Leading Chinese company JD.com Inc. generously supports the BFC/GQ Menswear Fund as part of a two-year sponsorship deal that was announced in September 2018 as part of the BFC’s China Partnerships Strategy 2018-2020. With China being the world’s second largest consumer and luxury market and an increased interest from Chinese consumers for British designers, the partnership allows the BFC to help design talent better engage with the Chinese market as part of the fund’s mentoring programme and JD.com’s goal to expand its global fashion presence and bring more British brands to China.
Dylan Jones, Chair of Menswear British Fashion Council & Editor in Chief of British GQ said: “The UK is known globally for its creativity and innovative design talent. The fund enables us to support designer businesses through mentoring and to award one designer a cash prize which will help them make significant changes within their business and grow their profile further on an international stage.”
Caroline Rush, Chief Executive, British Fashion Council commented: “We are thrilled to be launching the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund with the support of JD.com Inc. Xia Ding and her team have already been incredible partners and it’s a real pleasure to work with them to support the brilliant menswear designers that we have here in the UK. We look forward to receiving all the applications and to finding the next menswear global brand!”
Xia Ding, President of JD International Fashion said: “It is always a pleasure to support designers from the UK and the rest of the world. As China’s largest retailer, we are thrilled to be part of this initiative, which combines fashion and e-commerce to introduce talented international designers to China’s discerning consumers.”
The BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund supported by JD.com Inc. is the UK’s biggest menswear prize for emerging talent. The prize was established in September 2013 following the success of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund. The Fund is aimed at businesses that have been trading for over three years, with UK and international stockists. The shortlisted designers will be chosen according to their potential to develop into a global designer brand and to benefit from the level of support the Fund offers. Previous winners include Craig Green, E. Tautz and Christopher Shannon.
