Fashion Designer Mary Katrantzou was recently accounted the winner of the 2015 British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund. Katrantzou snatched the coveted award from an impressive selection of contestants in London Fashion Week, including Mother of Pearl, Sophia Webster, Holly Fulton, Michael van der Ham, and Emilia Wickstead. The London native is best known for incorporating her vibrant palette and innovative digital-print techniques into her designs according to Vogue.
The BFC/Vogue Fashion Fund is celebrating its 6th year. The fund provides one designer with a personalized staff of mentors over a period of twelve months. The winner is also provided with a grant of £200,000 to provide them financial support to help grow their design label. British Vogue states winners from the past five years, which include Peter Pilotto (2014), Nicholas Kirkwood (2013), Jonathan Saunders (2012), Christopher Kane (2011), and Erdem (2010), have seen their designs and businesses grow in popularity and have become easily accessible all over the world.
Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue and chair of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fund said on the evening of the award ceremony, “Mary Katrantzou is incredibly deserving of this award…It was an extremely diverse shortlist but ultimately we all agreed that Mary has not only created a strong and hugely appealing identity for her work but that she has put in place measures that, along with the support of this prize, should ensure an exciting, and successful next stage of her career” (British Vogue).
Caroline Rush, Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council added, “As anyone who has met her [Katrantzou] knows, she is a tireless worker, has an abundance of creativity and has grown from being one of London Fashion Week’s must-see emerging talents, to one of the world’s most talked-about designers. It really is a pleasure working with Mary and we are thrilled that we are able to support her business at an exciting time of growth” (British Vogue).