New BFC Chairman

The British Fashion Council (BFC) has appointed Harold Tillman as its new Chairman. Mr. Tillman Chairman of fashion retailer Jaeger will replace Sir Stuart Rose, who has been in the position since January 2004. After February’s London Fashion Week, Sir Stuarts will step down, who has been responsible for strengthening the BFC’s financial position and establishing its own management team. In 2007 the BFC secured funding from the London Development Agency as party of a three year strategy as it seeks to build London Fashion Week and support emerging designer businesses.

Harold Tillman is an alumni of The London College of Fashion and focuses on maximising the potential of fashion businesses. As Chairman of the BFC Mr. Tillman is looking to make an important contribution to the industry and to build on the strong foundations put in place by Sir Stuart, Hilary Riva and her team. Tillman says: “London is internationally recognised as the most creative and exciting fashion capital. We have the best design colleges in the world which each year create a strong pool of talented designers wishing to start their own label business. Through the BFC and London Fashion Week we will offer support to these fledgling businesses, helping them to develop a market and attain sustainable growth.”

As well as his Chairmanship of Jaeger, Tillman personally created a £1million scholarship programme for students at The London College of Fashion and Chairs the country’s third largest department store, Allders of Croydon, and private company Complete Leisure Group.

The British Fashion Council was established in 1983 and is a not for profit organisation, which aims to promote British fashion design worldwide. Its principal activities are: London Fashion Week, incorporating New Generation the sponsorship scheme for new designers, and Fashion Forward which supports designers in the next stage of their development; the annual British Fashion Awards, voted for by key members of the fashion media; and the Colleges Council which develops links between Britain’s top fashion colleges and the industry.

Image: London Fashion Week