SHANGHAI – Eight months as the chief executive of the British Fashion Council, Laura Weir is ready to present her vision for the organizer of London Fashion Week and The Fashion Awards.
On Tuesday, he will present “BFC 2030: Access, Innovation, Growth,” a 64-page strategic plan that aims to clarify the way the BFC raises and spends money, and move it from an IP-led, event-driven organization to what he calls an “industry incubator.”
He also pledged to grow the BFC’s annual revenue by 38 per cent to £18 million by 2030, representing an annual growth rate of 8.4 per cent.
The policy paper even has a new look. It was designed by David Lane and AWL Studio and features a new color scheme called #000BFC blue.
The former journalist and creative director of Selfridges took over the role of CEO last year, and said he inherited a “support model” that was out of step with the reality of a post-Brexit, post-COVID-19, high-cost environment and an expanding global talent pool.
“Innovation, risk-taking and the productive conflict between art and commerce that defined British fashion are being suppressed,” Weir said in an interview. “Talent alone is not enough.”
His strategic plan is about moving from an “incentive and demonstration” approach to a “support and support” approach. He promises to deliver “disciplined, purposeful growth aimed at building sustainability, increasing direct investment in talent and maintaining the long-term competitiveness of British fashion.”
For Weir, the document is also a statement about his tenure. “It’s my first job with the team here that really tells the story of where I want to go [the BFC] until 2030. It explains why I am here, what I will give, and the legacy I want to leave as CEO,” he said.
When he started working on the design of the last fall, he knew that the traditional British fashion style far exceeded the support of the structure behind it.
Although the sector contributes 31.5 billion pounds to the UK economy, according to Oxford Economics, rising operating costs, latent domestic demand, global uncertainty and intense international competition are eroding the structural advantages that once made London a fertile area for innovation.
In addition, the community has seen a steady flow of talent. Designers nurtured by UK fashion schools and cultural institutions are increasingly attracted to markets that offer more money and size.
Against that backdrop, Weir’s strategy aims to change where money comes from and what it should buy.
Historically, BFC’s revenue has been driven by customer revenue and network relationships. Government revenue, on the other hand, has been falling.
“If you look at our government funds in the last four years, they have been decreasing, not only because of inflation, but also in real terms. The increase for us is really for charity and the network of supporters, as well as online relations and real cultural cooperation and relationships,” he said.
Under BFC 2030, the organization will adopt what it calls “a renewed model of philanthropy and strategy,” which means developing a deep foundation of led and individual support, expanding internationally and clearly positioning The Fashion Awards as “the world’s largest fashion fundraiser.”
He also sees an untapped potential in regional and local government funding, particularly as the BFC leans towards the “British” in its name by focusing on talent across the country, rather than London.
Weir is looking at the mayor’s budget that has already been earmarked for the creative industries. He said mayors across the UK had been given “a lot of money to spend on creative industries programmes. So how can the BFC get some of that? So how can we create opportunities for creatives with that money?” he said.
He is also focusing on the BFC’s new Fashion Assembly programme, which was launched last year. The program is already entering a pilot phase in Hull and Leicester, connecting designers with schools and the community that created them in order to promote art education and show fashion as a viable career.
“It’s about including fashion and design as a career option in early education, so that talent skills are really supported at that adult level,” said Weir. Supporting talent across the country also gives the BFC more money when it gets support from regional and local authorities.
On top of those local efforts is BFC International, one of four strategic growth projects that go beyond immediate overseas operations.
Weir says he is exploring ways to partner with key overseas markets, using them as a fundraising hub and speeding up exports for UK designers.
He noted that a recent trip to Mumbai resulted in Indian brand Raw Mango being featured at London Fashion Week in February. He described that as the “first salvo” in his quest for deeper international relations.
In the coming months he plans to introduce an international advisory board that brings together experts from key areas that can explore “where the opportunity can be found.”
Weir focuses on what happens once the money comes in. In a notable break with the past, he insists that cutting checks and handing out awards is no longer enough in a more flexible and customer-oriented environment.
“Gone are the days when you can only give money to designers. Designers tell me that they could do with more business knowledge, that they would like more mentoring, more training,” he said. “A menswear designer who recently visited me said, ‘It’s a wonderful giant, I know my client, but what I’m most worried about is how to build a successful business.'”
Her response was the introduction to the BFC Mini MBA, a business sustainability program for emerging fashion leaders.
“It’s a ‘mini’ MBA, to be clear in the language. It won’t be a complete business management program, but the main driver is to help designers who want to improve the skills of sustainability in business,” Weir said, adding that he is in preliminary discussions with educational institutions and brand academies about possible relationships. The plan is to expand the curriculum, which is expected to cover the basics of business, technology and sustainability.
Complementing the training section of the business is Fashion House, the last part of the new growth strategies. It is billed as a pilot project that aims to open a physical studio through BFC’s client network.
Weir says the idea emerged from meetings with vendors, law firms and technology companies that support the BFC.
“My idea was that we look at the consumer network to see if there is an opportunity to free up a physical studio space for designers and put it in the beating heart of businesses,” he said.
“And my ultimate goal is to have a BFC space that provides subsidized or affordable studio space for the creative community, whether in London or across the country.”
The four new growth initiatives will be delivered through a three-year strategic growth plan, while the fourth year will focus on scale and scale.
During the interview, Weir also expressed concern about the mental health of the designers and the level of expectation. He has been fascinated by how many of them struggle with the feeling of quick acclaim, which is often quickly followed by market realities such as financial constraints, cash flow problems and shrinking routes to market.
I’m thinking, ‘Should there be a support line? Weir said, speaking on a crisis hotline set up for workers in the UK’s nightlife industry, which is facing a series of challenges in the wake of COVID-19. He is exploring whether the BFC should work with experts to provide a health helpline and expand mentoring beyond award winners through an open, structured advisory committee.
Weir said he is trying to broaden the definition of success away from the dream of being the next Alexander McQueen or John Galliano.
“It is important for the BFC to recognize the approvals of what success can look like in society. It is not always necessary, ‘I took this risk. I grew fast. I raised the speed. That is good for many people, but it can also be, ‘I wanted to create a creative process that was small-, sustainable and gives me enough money and a decent lifestyle.’ That is also correct,” he said.
As the internal process changes, the key moments of the BFC also need to change from the “moment” of independence to the financial and cultural engines in the incubator model, he said.
London Fashion Week, under Weir’s new vision, will become “a global laboratory for innovation and creative exchange,” with a more defined value proposition.
“If Paris is luxury and Milan is heritage, then London is innovation and creativity. It always has been. But it’s about telling that story in a fun way,” he said.
She wants the annual Fashion Awards to become a bigger fundraising engine and platform for stories that support the simple power of British fashion.
Under the 2030 strategy, the Fashion Awards event is clearly defined as “a future-oriented global fundraiser that enhances British fashion’s influence and international authority,” with a renewed emphasis on community participation and cultural links with film, theater and sport.
Ultimately, the biggest difference from the past is Weir’s insistence on data and AI as tools for advocacy and success. “At BFC, we can do a lot with better data systems. Government stakeholders want to understand the true value of fashion and the impact we have on the industry,” he added.
To that end, Weir said the BFC is preparing to launch a data and innovation center, a funded program that will generate sector-wide reporting, help model the impact of policies such as VAT laws and provide the BFC network with insight.
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