Mary Katrantzou has something to celebrate today as the designer has been awarded the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund prize, taking home a year-long mentorship and £200,000 to help build up her buzzy brand. Judged by a panel that included Naomi Campbell, Topshop’s Mary Homer, Samantha Cameron, BFC chief executive Caroline Rush and more, Katrantzou took top honors.
Emilia Wickstead, Mother of Pearl, Osman, Sophia Webster, Holly Fulton and Michael van der Ham were amongst the seven designers nominated for the prize. Clearly, Ms. Katrantzou had stiff competition. “Mary Katrantzou is incredibly deserving of this year’s award,” Vogue UK editor and BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund chair Alexandra Shulman said. “It was an extremely diverse shortlist but ultimately we all agreed that Mary has not only created a strong and hugely appealing identity for her work but that she has put in place measures that, along with the support of this prize, should ensure an exciting and successful next stage of her career.”
Congratulations to Ms. Katrantzou! We can’t wait to see what this infusion of cash does for her label.
[via BFC]
