BFC names winners of 2026 Fashion Trust grant programme

The British Fashion Council (BFC) has announced the winners of this year’s BFC Fashion Trust awards, with six designers selected to receive financial support and mentoring to help build their businesses.

For the 2026 edition, the winners are Clio Peppiatt, Conner Ives, Nicholas Daley, Paolo Carzana, Patrick McDowell and Tolu Coker. The news was confirmed by NSS Magazine.

The recipients were selected by a judging panel chaired by BFC board member and Tank CEO, Caroline Issa, alongside Joseph CEO, Barbara Campos; BFC Foundation co-chair, Narmina Marandi; and Kurt Geiger CEO, Neil Clifford, among others.

This year’s programme follows the launch of the council’s new strategy, ‘BFC 2030: Access, Creativity, Growth’, through which prizes and programmes for emerging talent have been refined and refocused towards delivering measurable outcomes, BFC’s chief executive officer, Laura Weir said.

The BFC Fashion Trust therefore remains “a vital part of that commitment, demonstrating the value of sustained, strategic support for British fashion businesses”, Weir added.

Since its inception in 2011, BFC Fashion Trust has backed 59 designer businesses through over three million pounds in funding, helping them to scale operations and build future-proof businesses.

Its presence has been amplified by the launch of the BFC’s new strategy, for which educational initiatives have been positioned as a cornerstone. Such a shift reflects the council’s intention to pivot efforts towards a formatting that promotes sustained, long-term growth for British designers.