British Fashion Council names BA Scholarship recipients

The British Fashion Council has added a new scholarship to support undergraduate students in their final year through funding from the BFC Education Foundation and has named the first BA Scholarship recipients.

The funding is open to final year students enrolled in a full-time BA Honours degree in fashion, with the aim of promoting excellence in design by financially supporting students who have the “ability and potential to make an exceptional contribution to the fashion industry”.

For the 2016 scholarships the British Fashion Council has named three students. They are Cavan McPherson, a womenswear student at Manchester School of Art, who was selected due to her “elegant handle on using ethical fabrics and her conceptual, androgynous designs”. University of Westminster’s menswear student Pip Paz-Howlett who impressed with his silk screen and fabric printing, as well as his dedication to fashion, having started his BTEC at sixteen and teaching himself knitwear.

In addition, the British Fashion Council also awarded an additional scholarship to Jake Treddenick, a womenswear student at London College of Fashion, who the panel called an “exceptional talent” due to his expertise in areas of production, research and concept development.

Finalists for the BA Scholarship prize were selected from 30 of the UK’s most respected design schools and were interviewed by a panel that included Sarah Mower, BFC ambassador for emerging talent, Zowie Broach, head of fashion at Royal College of Art, and Paula Reed, director of brand strategy for Boutique 1 Group.

British Fashion Council adds BA Scholarship

Pieces from all three design students will be on display at the BFC Colleges Council Graduate Preview Day, taking place on May 13 at the Condé Nast College of Fashion and Design. The Graduate Preview Day provides an opportunity for industry professionals to assess the talent emerging from the UK’s top fashion colleges, review their portfolios as well as to foster relationships between graduates and the industry. Also on display will be pieces from this year’s graduating MA Scholarship winners: Emmeline Kellett, Grace Weller, and Taja Bobek.

Mower, who is co-president of the BFC Education Pillar, said: “Being able to support student talent financially is one of the most important and exciting missions of the British Fashion Council. In the interview process, it is incredibly rewarding to start relationships with creative people with fresh ideas which will form the future.

“So far, the students selected by the BFC Education Foundation committee have all graduated with First Class degrees, an incredible success rate which has only been made possible by the immense generosity of our donors, to whom we are continually grateful. The great thing for us is that winning this prize isn't just crucial to students being able to afford their studies and to produce top-notch final collections but it also opens up access for students to be invited to industry seminars and the many programmes about business we run.”

The BFC Education Foundation is a registered charity and the scholarship initiative is funded by Coach, Marks and Spencer, Mulberry, Dame Natalie Massenet and Eiesha Bharti Pasricha. The scheme is also supported by the British government with its employer ownership funding initiative through funding from Creative Skillset.

Images: British Fashion Council