Nicholas Kirkwood is the winner of the fourth BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund prize. He received a prize is 200,000 pounds of funding help toward his label's growth, as well as mentorship in helping him reach his business goals. Kirkwood beat out other designers including Mary Katrantzou, Peter Pilotto, Emilia Wickstead and Roksanda Ilincic.
British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman and British Fashion Council chairman Natalie Massenet cohosted the event at Nobu Berkeley in London's Mayfair. "It's particularly exciting to be here tonight knowing that the recipient of the second BFC/Vogue designer fund award, Christopher Kane, has now got the support of the big international PPR conglomerate," said Shulman in her speech. "The winner we ultimately chose was because we were impressed by how they had developed their business along with turning beautiful designs into a brand identity that is already admired worldwide and which has potential for growth."
Chief executive officer of the BFC, Caroline Rush, added, "The caliber of applications in the short list were second to none, all of the designers proved that they are at a very crucial stage in their business when the fund could deliver a real opportunity to accelerate growth. However, Nicholas' application provided a clear and compelling case for how both funding and targeted mentoring would be used to assist him in taking the next steps in developing a global brand."
