Christopher Bailey to chair Fashion Fringe

Fashion Fringe, one of the leading platforms supporting emerging fashion talent in the UK, has announced that Christopher Bailey, Burberry Chief Creative Officer will sit as Chair for the award for the next two years.

The announcement coincides with 2012 applications for the award, which opens on March 12, via the Fashion Fringe website, and will see Bailey solely judge, select and mentor three finalists and the Winner of the 2012 award.

On Christopher Bailey’s appointment as Chair, Colin McDowell, Founder and Creative Director of Fashion Fringe, said: “I have waited some time before asking Christopher to be our Chair as I wanted the run up to our tenth anniversary year (2013) to be very special. And I know that an association with Christopher and Burberry will make it just that and provide a perfect path to carry us through from one decade to the next.

“He is young and Burberry has a long and trusted tradition, and that pleases me enormously as youth and longevity are entirely what motivate and drive Fashion Fringe. I believe that Christopher and Burberry will offer great inspiration to our candidates in Fashion Fringe for the next two years whilst encouraging them to boldly step out and create their own vision and originality.”

Christopher Bailey said: “Fashion Fringe provides a wonderful platform to develop emerging creative talent and I am very proud to be partnering with them to unearth the next generation of exciting designers. The support, mentoring and guidance I received at the early stages of my career gave me the belief and self-confidence to explore the many wonderful opportunities that I've had.”

Fashion Fringe was set up by McDowell in 2003 in conjunction with IMG Fashion, to help emerging talented designers to launch, promote and sustain their label and business in London. The initiative has helped launch many successful names into the fashion industry, with 17 previous winners and finalists still running businesses today, notably including Basso & Brooke, Erdem, Jena.Theo, Corrie Nielsen and, most recently, design duo Fyodor Golan, who showcased their first collection in February during London Fashion Week.