Christopher Shannon Awarded BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund

The Fund was established in September 2013 following the success of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund and provides one designer with £150,000 grant to provide necessary infrastructure to take them to the next stage of their business and £50,000 value in kind services, including a bespoke, high level mentoring support programme over a twelve month period.

Christopher Raeburn, Christopher Shannon, E. Tautz, Lou Dalton and Richard Nicoll were shortlisted for the 2014 prize and participated in a mentoring programme where industry experts, including Fund committee members Ben Banks and Jonathan Akeroyd provided guidance on topics including strategic planning, branding, leadership, commercial retail, e-tail and wholesale and digital innovation. Vertu, the world’s leading luxury mobile manufacturer and lead partner on this Fund, played a key role in the mentoring programme and gave access to its team of business leaders in technology, global distribution, legal and finance.

Christopher Shannon A/W 14/15

Dylan Jones, Editor of British GQ and Chair of London Collections: Men commented “A big congratulations to Christopher Shannon, the deserving winner of the very first BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund. Over the mentoring programme every shortlisted designer presented a level of talent and business acumen that is second to none. While the competition was tough, Christopher Shannon’s win attests to the very bright future of British menswear, demonstrating original flair, meticulous craftsmanship and an in-depth commercial understanding. These ingredients, combined with this fantastic prize, will see this business sit confidently on the global stage.”

Massimiliano Pogliani, CEO of Vertu added: “It has been a privilege for Vertu to mentor the five shortlisted designers.  What we at Vertu were looking for was the willingness to always go the extra mile, the ambition to develop the business and the brand at the same time, and the enthusiasm to keep on learning. With Christopher Shannon this was clear from the start. He demonstrated the vision and focus to build what I believe could be a global presence.   Christopher Shannon has all the potential to build a very solid and distinctive brand and I am sure we will be seeing a lot more of him.”