| 1983 |
Cyril Kern is made Chairman of the British Fashion Council.
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| 1983 |
John Wilson is made CEO of the British Fashion Council. |
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| 1984 |
London Fashion Week launches in its current form with a central catwalk venue and a large designer exhibition at Olympia - the British Designer Show in association with the London Designer Collections.
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| 1984 |
The BFC establishes the first British Fashion Award - the Designer of the Year Award: Katharine Hamnett is the first recipient. The British Designer Show was held at Olympia in association with the London Designer Collections and the first joint show tent was at the Commonwealth Institute nearby.
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| 1985 |
London Designer Collections organiser, Annette Worsley-Taylor, supported by the 'Gang of Six' (a group comprising Jean Muir, Edward Rayne, Sir Terence Conran, Sir Roy Strong and Lady Henderson), lobby the goverment for funding to support and promote designer businesses. The gang of six was headed by Beatrix Miller the editor of British Vogue. |
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| 1986 |
The BFC is registered as a company limited by guarantee with DTI funding matched by industry sponsors. Its aims include:
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encourage, support and market the British fashion industry to ensure future growth and prosperity.
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organise and promote fashion shows, exhibitions and other events for the purpose of promoting the British fashion industry in a global market.
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| 1986 |
Sir Edward Rayne CVO is made Chairman of the British Fashion Council. |
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| 1986 |
Beatrix Miller becomes Vice Chair. |
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| 1989 |
Built on the success of the Designer of the Year Award, the BFC launches the British Fashion Awards ceremony, recognising the different categories within designer fashion and including Photographer of the Year. The event takes place at the Royal Albert Hall, with an aftershow dinner at the Royal College of Art. Workers for Freedom wins Designer of the Year. |
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| 1990 |
Sir Ralph Halpern is made Chairman of the British Fashion Council.
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| 1990 |
Diana, Princess of Wales attends the British Fashion Awards as guest of honour. |
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| 1991 |
London Fashion Week moves to the Duke of Yorks Headquarters where the
first complete tented venue is built for the shows, exhibition and press
facilities initiated and supported by Annette Worsley-Taylor of the
London Designer Collections and John Wilson of the British Clothing
Industry Association. |
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| 1991 |
The British Fashion Council introduces the BFC Colleges Forum. Chaired by Anne Tyrrell, the initiative links British fashion colleges with the domestic and global industry. |
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| 1993 |
London Fashion Week moves to the Natural History Museum. |
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| 1993 |
Developed to support fledging fashion design businesses, the BFC New Generation scheme is introduced, offering design labels the opportunity to show at London Fashion Week. Alexander McQueen is among the first designers to benefit. |
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| 1993 |
The BFC Colleges Forum holds its first open day, inviting the industry to view graduates’ portfolios and meet course leaders. |
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| 1994 |
Clinton Silver CBE is made Chairman of the British Fashion Council.
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| 1994 |
Annette Worsley-Taylor becomes Creative and Brand Director and consultant on London Fashion Week to the British Fashion Council (until 2006). |
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| 1997 |
John Hoerner is made Chairman of the British Fashion Council.
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| 1997 |
The Designer Fact File, written and researched by Caroline Coates, is published by the BFC in September. |
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| 1998 |
BFC Princess of Wales Charitable Trust set up to award MA fashion scholarships. Erdem is the first designer to recieve the award.
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| 2000 |
Nicholas Coleridge is made Chairman of the British Fashion Council.
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| 2001 |
The Prince of Wales is guest of honour at the British Fashion Awards, held at Battersea Park Arena. |
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| 2004 |
Sir Stuart Rose is made Chairman of the British Fashion Council.
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2005
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Hilary Riva is made Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council.
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| 2006 |
Recognising young businesses’ need for significant financial and business support at the second stage of development post NewGen, the BFC Fashion Forward scheme is introduced. Giles Deacon and Jonathan Saunders are the first recipients. |
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| 2006 |
Co-curated with From Somewhere’s Orsola de Castro, the BFC incorporates ethical fashion showcase BFC estethica to The Exhibition at London Fashion Week. |
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| 2007 |
The London Development Agency commits a multi-million pound funding of the British Fashion Council, worth £4.2m over three years, to enable its continued growth and consolidate its support role within the industry. |
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2007
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The British Fashion Council launches the new London Fashion Week website platform.
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| 2007 |
In response to concerns about the health of catwalk models at London Fashion Week, the BFC establishes the independent Model Health Inquiry, to report on industry and public concerns and make recommendations to the fashion industry. |
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| 2007 |
The BFC supports Erin O'Connors's Model Sanctuary at LFW, a retreat for models inbetween catwalk shows. |
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| 2008 |
The BFC Colleges Forum relaunched as the BFC Colleges Council and invites a further 20 colleges to join its board. |
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| 2008 |
10 years after its inception the MA scholarship, (originally launched by the BFC Princess of Wales Charitable Trust) is relaunched to support graduates wishing to study MA Fashion in the London area. Manchester Metropolitan University’s Nabil El-Nayal is the first recipient; the bursary will support his studies at the Royal College of Art. |
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2008
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Harold Tillman is made Chairman of the British Fashion Council.
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| 2008 |
As part of its funding agreement with the London Development Agency, the British Fashion Council agrees to administrate the organisation’s London Fashion Showcasing Fund. This becomes the LDA’s central pool of funding for all fashion-related showcasing events. |
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| 2008 |
At a Downing Street British Fashion Council reception, hosted by Prime Minister's wife Sarah Brown, BFC Chairman Harold Tillman and Chief Executive Hilary Riva announce initiatives to mark the organisation's 25th year, including the BFC Designer Fund. |
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| 2009 |
Caroline Rush and Simon Ward are appointed Joint CEOs of the British Fashion Council. Hilary Riva continues to work pro bono for the British Fashion Council by creating and chairing a new Development Committee.
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2009
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Sarah Mower is appointed the British Fashion Council's first Ambassador for Emerging Talent.
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| 2010 |
BFC management structure is refined to create greater clarity and definition of roles for its joint chief executive officers (CEOs). Caroline Rush, CEO, leads innovation, marketing and communications and special projects. Simon Ward moves from joint CEO to take on the newly formed role of chief operating officer (COO) and leads financial and operational controls of the organisation. |
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| 2010 |
Hilary Riva steps down to make room for a new non-executive director to work with the team under a new governance structure. |
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| 2010 |
Anya Hindmarch MBE joins the BFC as non-executive director. |
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| 2011 |
Estethica celebrates its 5th Anniversary as the industry’s leading showcase of ethical fashion. |
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| 2011 |
The Women's Tennis Association and BFC unveil unique partnership celebrating link between women's tennis and the world of fashion |
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| 2011 |
The BFC and Ascot Racecourse partner to promote designers and milliners at Royal Ascot 2011. |
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| 2011 |
Announcement of the China / Britain Fashion Alliance; a combined initiative between the BFC, the Beijing International Brand Management Centre (BIBMC) and the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC). |
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| 2011 |
Laura Bailey and Poppy Delevingne appointed BFC ambassadors. |
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| 2011 |
LONDON show ROOMS initiative expands to Los Angeles and Hong Kong. |
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| 2012 |
Launch of London Collections: Men, a biannual showcase of British brands and businesses embedded in a cultural programme. |
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| 2012 |
Britain Creates took place throughout the London 2012 Festival: an artistic project which formed part of the Fashion 2012 platform to celebrate the year of London’s hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. |
| 2013 |
Natalie Massenet MBE is appointed Chairman of the British Fashion Council. |