Graduate Fashion Foundation names new global ambassadors

Graduate Fashion Foundation, the charitable organisation behind the annual Graduate Fashion Week showcase, has named 20 new global ambassadors who will join the charity this month to help shape the future of fashion, design and media.

In a statement, the Graduate Fashion Foundation said the 20 influential figures were chosen for making “significant strides across the fashion industry,” and they will serve as mentors and role models, guiding and inspiring emerging creatives, as well as promoting the charity's work.

The Graduate Fashion Foundation’s mission is to bridge the gap between education and employment in fashion, and the new ambassadors will play “a key role in advancing this mission by offering their expertise, wisdom, and support to young talent”.

The new global ambassadors feature several designers, including Samuel Ross, who founded A-Cold-Wall* and SR_A, London-based Rahemur Rahman, known for blending traditional tailoring, artisanal craft and natural dye from Bangladesh, Central Saint Martins graduate Jawara Alleyne, who launched his brand under the Fashion East initiative in 2021, Foday Dumbuya, the founder and creative director of Labrum London, British designer Nicholas Daley, sustainable footwear designer Helen Kirkum, and Indian-born, London-based Ashish Gupta.

On becoming an ambassador, Nicholas Daley said in a statement: “It is very important to support the next generation of fashion designers, and it has been a rewarding experience to serve on the judging panel for 2024 GFF Gold Award. Seeing so many impressive collections from universities across the UK was truly inspiring.

“I look forward to continuing my contributions to this important organisation, which leads the way in supporting emerging talent and preparing students for careers in the fashion industry. Staying true to your own creative path is very important and I hope I can help support and guide the next generation through my involvement.”

Helen Kirkum added: "I am a big advocate of supporting emerging graduates, it is their creativity and fresh ideas that keep the industry exciting. We have to support them with practical guidance to allow them to flourish, it's how we will shape a more thoughtful and responsible future for fashion!"

The other ambassadors include Jamie Windust, an award-winning, non-binary model, writer and advocate for inclusivity and diversity in the fashion industry, Japanese-born journalist and writer Yu Masui, stylist, creative director and brand consultant Phoebe Lettice-Thompson, Dr Brett Staniland a model and environmental advocate, Toni-Blaze Ibekwe editor-in-chief at Wonderland Magazine and diversity committee member at the British Fashion Council, Bianca Foley the founder of the platform Sustainably Influenced, Gemma Metheringham a circular fashion consultant, Jiawa Lui a fashion editor and founder of Paris and London multidisciplinary creative studio Beige Pill, Claudia Croft editor at 10 Magazine, Jordan Mitchell and Liz MacCuish, co-founders of Good Culture, Funmi Fetto style editor at British Vogue, and Chani Ra the host of The Fashion Nap podcast.

Nicola Hitchens, charity and event director at the Graduate Fashion Foundation, said: “We are thrilled to have the vital support of these leading industry voices and motivational change makers join GFF as Global Ambassadors.

“They each join the charity with many years’ of experience in their specialist areas and they will hugely inspire the next generation of talent emerging from UK and International universities we support.”

The new cohort of global ambassadors joins existing ambassadors, including fashion designers Christopher Raeburn, Richard Quinn, Julian Macdonald, Henry Holland, Patrick McDowell, Edeline Lee, and Catherine Teatum and Rob Jones, founders of Teatum Jones.