Wales Bonner scoops another prize, wins 2023's BFC/GQ Designer Fashion Fund

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 7, 2023

The British Fashion Council (BFC) has named Grace Wales Bonner, founder of the Wales Bonner fashion label, as the winner of the 2023 BFC/GQ Designer Fashion Fund. 

Her prize is a 12-month bespoke high-level business mentoring programme, pro-bono legal services from Sheridans and £100,000.

Adam Baidawi, Head of Editorial Content, British GQ, called her “an electrifying talent with a razor-sharp vision” who’s “rearchitecting the very notion of what a luxury fashion house is – and who luxury is for. She is the total embodiment of modern creativity: ambitious, collaborative, and global”.

The winner added that it’s “a great affirmation for myself and my team as we continue on our journey. Receiving this kind of support is very meaningful to us as an independent brand”.

Grace Wales Bonner has become used to getting prizes and was also named the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s (CFDA) 2021 International Men's Designer of the Year at her first-ever nomination. She was a finalist for that year’s ANDAM Fashion Award too and in 2019 had been the recipient of BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund and its £200,000 cash prize.

This year’s BFC/GQ shortlist had included AGR, Bianca Saunders, Bleue Burnham and Paria Farzaneh who will have the opportunity to participate in a mentoring programme through the BFC’s Designer Initiatives team, among other benefits.

Previous winners of the prize include Nicholas Daley, Ahluwalia, A-Cold-Wall, Craig Green, E Tautz and Christopher Shannon.