BFC’s Laura Weir says it's “time to reset” in first speech as CEO

Laura Weir, the British Fashion Council’s new chief executive, has been in her role for 77 days, and at the BFC’s summer party in London, she unveiled several strategic updates designed to drive the “next British fashion era,” as she looks to revitalise the fashion economy for British designers.

In her speech at the Serpentine Pavilion, Weir said it was “time to reset,” as she acknowledged that London is losing design talent to Paris, Milan and Berlin, due to a lack of infrastructure to support the designers “to make, create, show and, importantly, to scale in this country”.

Weir said: “I am still shaping my strategy, and my intention is to build on the great foundations of the BFC - to put designers at the heart, to make mentoring and business skills central to our offer and to ensure our funding models result in long-term impact for the British creative economy. Every event and showcase we host will be intentional and magnetic and the BFC’s work internationally on behalf of our members, will mark a new era of post-Brexit cultural diplomacy.

“As I take on this role, I’m aware that the task ahead is Herculean - revitalising a sustainable fashion economy for our British designers in the UK and globally is a long-term mission. I took this job because I care about the creative and commercial success of British fashion, and I won’t rest until my tenure has had a positive impact on its global reputation.”

Some of those strategic updates include the BFC waiving London Fashion Week fees for designer members showing physically in September, as she believes that fashion week is a “valuable piece of national IP and our shop window for what creative Britain looks like”. Historically, a brand needed to pay a listing fee to be shown as part of the LFW official calendar. BFC members have to pay between 500 to 10,000 pounds a year, depending on annual turnover.

The BFC is also doubling its investment in the London Fashion Week guest programme and will bring more international buyers and press to London, a response Weir states to what designers were asking for.

There will also be increased scholarship funding “to support the next generation of designers to flourish,” and the BFC NewGen programme will continue to develop from 2026 after the BFC secured an additional three-year funding.

BFC’s Laura Weir unveils strategic updates to revitalise the UK’s fashion economy

Weir added: “Over the last eleven weeks, I’ve had conversations with government representatives from Hong Kong, representatives from India and the Middle East. What strikes me is how these superpowers are investing in culture as they build their strategic positions on the global stage.

“Some are meeting me to find out more about London Fashion Week and then their governments are investing millions of pounds in building their own - they understand that investment in culture leads to the commercial and reputational success of a nation.

“We have all of that in spades, we’ve had it for years - we have the fashion week, the creativity, the ambition - and yet we are losing design talent to Paris, Milan and Berlin - not because of a lack of creativity, but because of a lack of infrastructure to support our designers to make, create, show and importantly, to scale in this country.

“I can’t help but feel that since Brexit and Covid, we have been sleeping on the creative British asset that quite literally touches everyone.”

Weir also announced the launch of the BFC Fashion Assembly pilot, a creative education initiative conceived by Sarah Mower, the BFC’s ambassador for emerging talent, which will take designers back to their old schools across the UK, so that young people outside of London can see themselves in this industry in the future.

At the end of her speech, Weir spoke directly to retailers, urging them to become more than stockists to British designers but “strategic partners,” while expressing to designers that she has heard their concerns and will reorient BFC’s funding pathways and activity to support them, not just at launch, but through to sustained scale.

“Fashion is not just about shows and clothes. Fashion gives us a preview of society’s next chapter. It’s time to write a new story together,” Weir concluded.