Today, the British Fashion Council has announced the 2025/26 recipients of its annual talent support schemes, marking a new year on the fashion calendar ahead of the spring/summer ‘26 shows taking place in September. In addition to the total of four schemes, the BFC also awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design for the 8th year to the designer Patrick McDowell, which was presented to him by the Princess of Wales.
The four support schemes - the BFC NEWGEN in partnership with the Inditex-owned Pull&Bear, the BFC Trust, the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, and the BFC/GQ Designer Fashion Fund - are set up to support the recipients’ businesses financially, as well as through mentoring and legal advice, with the goal of safeguarding and growing young British fashion companies amidst a struggling fashion economy. In the past year, a total of £1.2 million was awarded by the BFC Foundation to aforementioned programs.
Since its inception in 1993, BFC NEWGEN has helped to launch the careers of over 300 designers, counting the likes of Jonathan Anderson, Kim Jones and Alexander McQueen as almuni. This year’s cohort of new talents features a lineup of 19 emerging fashion brands, seven of which are joining NEWGEN for the first time: Aaron Esh, Aletta, Charlie Constantinou, Derrick, Ewusie, Johanna Parv, Karoline Vitto, Kazna Asker, Liza Keane, Lueder, Louther, Oscar Ouyang, Octi, Pauline Dujancourt, Steve O Smith, The Ouze, The Winter House, Tolu Coker and Yaku.
Following the footsteps of mainstays on the London fashion week schedule like 16Arlington and Chopova Lowena, is Conner Ives - the designer behind the viral ‘Protect The Dolls’ T-Shirt, who has been awarded £150,000 as the winner of this year’s BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund. The BFC/GQ Designer Fashion Fund - won last year by the menswear designer Bianca Saunders - comes with a prize fund of £100,000, and the winner will be announced in June. The nominees for the prize are Bleue Burnham, clothsurgeon, Labrum London and Saul Nash.
Awarding financial grants and mentoring, linked to a defined project, is the BFC Fashion Trust, which has been running for 15 years. This year’s recipients include Clio Peppiatt, Edeline Lee, Harri, Nicholas Daley and Tove.
Lastly, the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, which recognizes designers who demonstrate exceptional talent, originality, and value to the community or strong sustainable practices, was presented to Patrick McDowell by Kate Middleton. Previous winners include Rosh Mahtani from Alighieri, S.S. Daley, Richard Quinn and Priya Ahluwalia.
Henrik Lischke is the senior fashion features editor at Grazia. Prior to that, he held the role of commerce writer at British Vogue, and was junior fashion editor at The Sunday Times Style. A first-class honours Fashion Journalism graduate from UAL: London College of fashion, Henrik is invariably on the lookout for the newest talent in fashion, that is driving the industry forward, and shining the spotlight on them whenever possible. He’s also got a passion for interiors design and the arts. Follow Henrik on Instagram @henriklischke.