British Fashion Council Names NewGen Men Winners

The British Fashion Council on Tuesday named the twelve emerging men’s labels that will receive support from the Topman-sponsored NewGen Men initiative for the spring 2016 season of London Collections: Men.

Three new names were added to the roster for spring – Bobby Abley, who receives sponsorship for a runway show and Cottweiler, designed by Ben Cottrell and Matthew Dainty and Pieter, designed by Sebastiaan Pieter, who each receive support to hold presentations. They join the nine existing NewGen Men recipients: Agi & Sam, Alex Mullins, Astrid Andersen, Cmmn Swdn, Craig Green, Diego Vanassibara, Kit Neale, Nasir Mazhar and Vidur.

The BFC and Topman unveiled the latest round of recipients with a cocktail at London’s Soho House Tuesday. As part of the NewGen Men program, which was launched in Sept. 2009, designers receive the opportunity to showcase their collections, along with financial support and business mentoring, with the aim of building their businesses commercially.

Jason Griffiths, marketing director of Topman commented: “The list of recipients includes designers whose shows are quickly becoming essential must-sees on the schedule,” while Caroline Rush, the BFC’s chief executive officer described the spring lineup of designers as “unique and exciting.”