Heathrow Airport Teams Up with British Fashion Council for Exclusive Designer Tote Bag Collection
- A collection of exclusive designer bags launches at Heathrow ahead of London Fashion Week
- The line has been created to mark 30 years of the British Fashion Council NEWGEN initiative
- To launch the range, Heathrow is offering passengers the chance to win backstage access to London Fashion Week and an overnight stay at Treehouse London
(IN SHORT) Heathrow Airport has partnered with the British Fashion Council (BFC) to release a limited-edition collection of tote bags designed by renowned fashion alumni to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the BFC NEWGEN initiative. Passengers traveling through Heathrow in 2024 will have the chance to purchase these exclusive bags featuring prints by designers such as Ahluwalia, Giles Deacon, and Christopher Kane. A portion of each sale will be donated to the BFC Foundation, supporting emerging talent in the UK fashion industry. Heathrow aims to merge fashion, travel, and sustainability through this cultural collaboration, with passengers also having the opportunity to win backstage access to London Fashion Week and an overnight stay at Treehouse London.
(PRESS RELEASE) London, UK, 2024-Jan-29— /Travel PR News/ — Heathrow has announced a new partnership with the British Fashion Council (BFC) ahead of London Fashion Week, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the BFC NEWGEN initiative. Limited-edition commemorative bags designed by some of BFC NEWGEN’s most famous alumni have been unveiled at the airport and will be available to passengers travelling through Heathrow throughout 2024.
While stocks last, passengers flying from Heathrow this year will have the opportunity to pick up the exclusive products designed by some of the most exciting names in fashion. Designers, Ahluwalia, Giles Deacon, ROKSANDA, Christopher Kane, ERDEM, Mary Katrantzou and Halpern, have each donated a unique print for the range of bags. Setting the stage for London Fashion Week (16 February – 20 February), the brand-new range is available now from experiential retail pop-ups and shops across Heathrow, including Harrods, Case, WHSmith and World Duty Free.
Available exclusively at Heathrow, the new line of products has been designed by previous recipients of the BFC NEWGEN initiative, which has nurtured and promoted emerging fashion talent since its establishment in 1993. The BFC NEWGEN 30 commemorative bags range from £9.99 to £70.00, and a percentage of each purchase will be donated to the BFC Foundation, which plays a pivotal role in supporting the next generation of creative talent in the UK fashion industry.
Every bag in the collection has been produced by Bags of Ethics, using sustainably sourced cotton, through an ethical supply chain. The Cultural Collaboration between Heathrow and the BFC aims to bring together the worlds of fashion, travel, and sustainability.
To launch the new range, Heathrow is offering passengers the opportunity to experience a first glimpse of cutting-edge fashion as it hits runways this season. One lucky competition winner and a friend will enjoy behind-the-scenes access to a London Fashion Week show in September and an overnight stay at Treehouse London.
Fraser Brown, Retail Director at Heathrow, commented: “Heathrow is proud to have collaborated with the British Fashion Council on this project, and to be using our platform to showcase the work of emerging fashion designers to travellers from all over the world. Passengers visiting Heathrow this year will be able to take part in celebrating London Fashion Week, with access to exclusive new products from creatives at the forefront of design, as well as those working to make the fashion industry more sustainable.”
Over the past 30 years, BFC NEWGEN has provided support to more than 300 designers, including Alexander McQueen and Christopher Kane, helping to propel them onto the global stage. BFC NEWGEN offers designers the opportunity to showcase and develop their collections at London Fashion Week, as well as expert mentoring and financial support to future-proof their businesses. The BFC is celebrating 30 years since the launch of the initiative with an exhibition at the Design Museum. REBEL: 30 years of London Fashion sponsored by Alexander McQueen is open now, until 11 February 2024.
To learn more about Heathrow’s collaboration with the British Fashion Council and to find out how to win backstage tickets to London Fashion Week, visit: www.Heathrow.com/Fashion
About Heathrow
Heathrow is the UK’s international gateway and the largest airport in Europe – connecting to 239 destinations in 89 countries. The airport welcomes over 200,000 passengers on roughly 1,300 flights each day, and serves as a Britain’s hub for trade, tourism and investment. Approximately 75,000 colleagues work at Heathrow – the airport directly employs about 10% of them, with the rest working for Team Heathrow partners including airlines, ground handlers and retailers.
About the British Fashion Council
The British Fashion Council (BFC), formed in 1983, is a not-for-profit organisation focused on the relentless innovation, responsible growth and local and global amplification of the British fashion industry. Its mission is to champion British fashion on the world stage by pioneering world class programmes that unlock and elevate British creative talent. This is fuelled by an extraordinary diverse and inspiring community of advocates, icons, experts, and fans.
The BFC amplifies excellence in creativity and its role in the UK’s cultural influence through The Fashion Awards and London Fashion Week. The BFC prepares businesses for positive change through relentless innovation with a focus on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEI&B), Web 3.0 and pivotal areas of the UK Circular Fashion Eco-system through the Institute of Positive Fashion (IPF). The BFC enables responsible growth through a dynamic, inclusive, and unified community that advocates for creativity, innovation and collectively supports the industry to grow and talent to gain access.
The BFC Foundation (Registered Charity Number: 11852152) was created in 2019 for charitable purposes and grant giving; attracting, developing, and retaining talent through education and business mentoring. The BFC Foundation offers support to designers through four talent prizes: BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, BFC/GQ Designer Fashion Fund, BFC NEWGEN and the BFC Fashion Trust. With the support of the BFC Colleges Council, the BFC Foundation offers BA and MA scholarships to students, as well as links with industry through design competitions and Graduate Preview Day. The Fashion Awards is the primary fundraiser for the BFC Foundation.
For more information visit: britishfashioncouncil.co.uk / londonfashionweek.co.uk / instituteofpositivefashion.com
About the designers
Ahluwalia – Ahluwalia is deemed a pioneer in the fashion industry and is regularly featured in the global press, from the New York Times to i-D, to Vogue, and many more.
The label combines elements from the designer’s dual Indian-Nigerian heritage and London roots. It explores the potential of vintage and surplus clothing by giving existing material a new life through various textile and patchwork techniques. This means that many Ahluwalia pieces are one of a kind.
Inspired by art, music, and literature, much of the work created by Ahluwalia goes beyond her collections and includes collaborative campaigns, books, and films.
Christopher Kane – The young Scot first caught the attention of the fashion world—in particular, of the Italian design diva Donatella Versace—with his work done as a student at Central Saint Martins in London. Just six months after his graduation show (and having turned down a juicy full-time position at Versace in favour of a more modest consulting gig for the designer to focus on his own line), Kane introduced his signature label of colourful body-con looks to the world.
Erdem – Erdem is an independent house of bold fashion for women, based in London. Founded in 2005 by designer Erdem Moralioglu MBE, the brand has forged its own path within the industry. Poetic and rigorous, ageless, and timeless, powerful and versatile, Erdem’s world is an intriguing interplay of strength and beauty.
Erdem is at heart a storyteller. Collections are formed around a narrative, championing heroic women at a particular place and a moment in time. Erdem’s fashion is dramatic, atmospheric and expressive in the service of emotion: it is not what they wear, but how they feel that matters.
Giles Deacon – Giles Deacon is a London-based couture designer and illustrator mixing fashion, fine art, theatre, and grand-scale glamour, known for his expertly crafted pieces using bespoke designed fabrics, prints and intricate embellishments.
His pieces are worn and collected the world over by private clients, red-carpet celebrities and royalty with pieces in the permanent collections of the V&A Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Mary Katrantzou – Born in Athens, Mary Katrantzou studied Architecture at Rhode Island School of Design (USA) and graduated with a BA in Textile design and an MA in Fashion from Central Saint Martins (London).
Mary Katrantzou was dubbed “The Queen of Print” by the press, a moniker that recognized the enormous influence of her work in the medium. Katrantzou’s work changed the face of twenty-first-century fashion, inspiring high-fashion and high-street designers alike.
ROKSANDA – Originally from Serbia, Roksanda studied Architecture and Applied Arts at the University of Belgrade before moving to London where she graduated with an MA in Womenswear from Central Saint Martins.
In over a decade since founding her label, Roksanda has evolved an unmistakable woman-centred design aesthetic. As a woman consciously designing for women, she started ROKSANDA with a view of creating a platform to celebrate the equality of women whilst seeking to challenge the perceptions of traditional beauty through a blend of opposites. Roksanda creates pieces that reveal a woman’s personality while providing a sense of shelter and refuge through their unique design.
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Source: Heathrow Airport
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