British Fashion Council Announce Scholarship Recipients

The Fashion Awards 2016 will have a core aim - to raise significant funds over the next ten years to continue this work and help the best talent attend leading fashion colleges. The Fashion Awards will be an annual fundraiser gala for the BFC Education Foundation.

The four recipients of the 2016 BFC Education Foundation MA Scholarship are promising students who have already excelled in their BA degrees.

The BFC are delighted to congratulate:

• Cassandra Verity Green from Central Saint Martins (CSM) will study the MA Fashion Womenswear (Accessories) course at Royal College of Art (RCA)
• Cavan McPherson from CSM will study the MA Fashion Womenswear (Knitwear) course at RCA
• Geraint Brian Lewis from University of South Wales will study the Menswear MA course at University of Westminster
• Yasemin Cakli from University of Westminster will study the Menswear MA course at University of Westminster

The British Fashion Council Education Foundation was set up to establish pathways through education and into employment for exceptionally talented people studying BA and MA fashion courses.

This year’s judging panel consisted of Emma Farrow, Head of Design, Finery; Nabil Nayal, designer and former scholarship recipient; and Sarah Mower MBE, American Vogue journalist and BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent.

For the first time this year, previous scholarship winner Erdem joins the scheme’s funders: Coach, Marks & Spencer, Net-a-Porter and Eiesha Bharti Pasricha. This project has also been partly supported by HM Government with Employer Ownership funding through Creative Skillset.

Erdem Moralıoğlu commented: "I was lucky enough to win the scholarship whilst studying at the Royal College of Art. Looking back I understand how important that was for me then and what’s important to me now is that others can benefit at a similar stage in their development."

Sarah Mower MBE, who is co-president of the BFC Education Pillar with Meribeth Parker, said: "The British fashion industry is fuelled by the originality and drive of people from every background who emerge from our world-beating fashion education system. As the costs of further education continue to rise, The British Fashion Council Education Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that the doors remain open to excellent students to whom expense is a barrier. We are grateful to every donor who joins with us to guarantee that brilliant young people continue to strengthen the future of our unique industry."

With two of the recipients joining the newly created two-year Menswear MA at University of Westminster, the Course Director, Ike Rust said "The BFC Education Foundation Scholarships awarded to Yasemin Cakli and Geraint Lewis enabled both to undertake their place on the MA Menswear Course, which in itself is a life changer. As well as helping to enable the students it is also an important endorsement for a brand new course."

www.britishfashioncouncil.co.uk