Molly Goddard wins 2018 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 2, 2018

The British Fashion Council (BFC) had plenty to talk about on Wednesday evening as it revealed the 2018 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund winner and also added to the names on the 2018/19 Newgen list.

And the Fashion Fund winner is? Step forward Molly Goddard. Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, who also chairs the Fund Committee, said Goddard “is an original, she has a singular vision that has propelled her label to an international level.” And he added that “she is the definition of talent and what Britain does best in our creative industry.” 

It’s certainly been a busy year for the designer as she has continued to raise her profile and has become one of the must-see names on the London Fashion Week calendar. And the support she gets from the Fund is designed to help her graduate from being this year’s must-see into a designer with staying power as well as star power.

Established in 2008, the Fund aims to discover new talent and accelerate growth over a 12-month period through mentoring and awarding a cash prize of £200,000. And the support it has from some of the big names in the industry certainly helps here. This year the Fund had the support of China’s largest e-tailer JD.com for the first time. 

The shortlist for the prize included David Koma, Huishan Zhang, Le Kilt, Marques’ Almeida, and Rejina Pyo, as well as Goddard. And all of those on that shortlist receive a full mentoring programme through the BFC’s Business Support team, with access to funders and industry experts including a roundtable hosted by Sir Paul Smith and a mentoring session from Rodial’s Maria Hatzistefanis. 

Additionally, JD.com hosted the shortlisted designers in Shanghai and organised a catwalk show for them to showcase their collections to a local audience of media, retailers and industry influencers. And top law firm Mishcon de Reya is also providing pro-bono legal advice to the finalists and winner.

Previous winners of the Fund include Christopher Kane, Erdem, Jonathan Saunders, Mary Katrantzou, Mother of Pearl, Nicholas Kirkwood, palmer//harding, Peter Pilotto and Sophia Webster. 

Meanwhile, the Newgen initiative that aims to build global, high-end fashion brands of the future will see a number of key emerging names receiving sponsorship, mentoring and other help to drive their businesses. 

This year’s recipients include Alighieri, Isosceles, Matty Bovan, Per Gotesson, Supriya Lele and The Season Hats who will receive Newgen support for the first time. 

They join existing Newgen designers A-Cold-Wall, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Halpern, Kiko Kostadinov, Liam Hodges, Nicholas Daley, Paula Knorr, Phoebe English, Richard Malone, Richard Quinn, and Wales Bonner, who all continue to receive support. 

And One to Watch support has been awarded to Bianca Saunders and Pariah Farzaneh. They will be given exhibition space in the LFW Designer Showrooms at The Store Studios this September. In fact, each of the Newgen designers will be allocated a dedicated pop-up showroom space within the Designer Showrooms, taking residence after their show or presentation to host press and buyer appointments.