The British Fashion Council (BFC) today announced Craig Green as the winner of the third BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund supported by Vertu. The announcement was made at a reception hosted by Caroline Rush CBE, Dylan Jones OBE and Gordon Watson at the Boundary Restaurant in London. Craig Green founded his eponymous label after graduating from the Central Saint Martins MA course in 2012.
Dylan Jones OBE, Editor of British GQ and Chair of London Collections Men commented: “I would like to congratulate Craig Green, the third winner of the BFC/GQ Designer Fund, supported by VERTU. This year the level of talent and business acumen presented by the shortlisted designers was even higher than usual, with each designer making a case for themselves. However there was only really one winner, as Craig demonstrated a unique ability to build commercially on the incredible awareness driven by his high-profile shows during London Collections Men. It was a unanimous decision, as he showed a seemingly innate ability to understand the demands of growing a small business. He is a more than worthy winner of the prize. I would also like to personally thank Gordon Watson for supporting the BFC/GQ fund. As a bastion of British creativity Vertu completely understand the importance of nurturing young British talent.”
The Fund is the UK’s biggest menswear prize and was established in September 2013 following the success of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund providing one designer with a £150,000 grant to provide necessary infrastructure to take them to the next stage of their business and significant value in kind services as part of a bespoke, high level mentoring support programme over a twelve month period.
Gordon Watson, CEO of Vertu commented: “Once again, it has been a delight to spend time mentoring each of the shortlisted designers for what is now the third BFC/GQ Menswear Designer Fund. It has been a privilege for the Vertu team to be so involved. The standard has been very high but in the end, Craig won because of his clear vision and commercial awareness, which will no doubt lead to a very successful future.”
Caroline Rush CBE, Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council, commented “The panel was impressed by the focus, determination and talent of the shortlisted designers. All have bright futures and will play key roles at London Collections Men. But, there can only be one winner and Craig demonstrated incredible maturity, he has a clear plan of how the fund will benefit his business and how the mentoring can assist in his business growth over the next three years.”
Astrid Andersen, Christopher Raeburn, Craig Green, Lou Dalton and Sibling were shortlisted for the 2016 prize and participated in a mentoring programme where both industry experts and selection committee members provided guidance on topics including strategic planning, branding, leadership, commercial retail, e-tail and wholesale and digital innovation. Vertu, the world’s leading luxury mobile manufacturer and lead partner on the Fund, played a key role in the mentoring programme and gave access to its team of business leaders in technology, global distribution, legal and finance.
The BFC/GQ shortlist selection committee includes Dylan Jones OBE, British GQ (Chair); Ben Banks, Fourmarketing; Caroline Rush CBE, British Fashion Council; Charlie Porter, Financial Times; Gordon Watson, Vertu; Helen Seamons, Guardian; Jason Basmajian, Cerruti; Jon Stanley, Vertu; Robert Johnston, British GQ and Stephen Doig, Telegraph Luxury.
For more information visit www.britishfashioncouncil.com/designermenswearfund
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Will Iron
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