The British Fashion Council (BFC) is setting up shop on eBay to give up-and-coming fashion designers the opportunity to sell their wares.

The initiative, which launches during London Fashion Week in September, is part of the new BFC Contemporary scheme, sponsored by eBay. BFC Contemporary provides five selected fashion designers with a programme that delivers both mentorship and commercial opportunities.

Each designer will create a limited edition item that will be sold on the BFC Contemporary store on eBay. The store is found in eBay’s new Fashion Collective destination, a space that hosts a wide selection of clothing, shoes and accessories, directly available from retailers and brands.

EBay head of curation and merchandising Melanie Smallwood said: “BFC Contemporary reflects eBay’s ongoing commitment to support emerging design talent, assisting the recipients in fulfilling their business ambitions. The first ever BFC Contemporary Shop on eBay.co.uk will provide a fantastic platform to showcase British Contemporary designers to eBay.co.uk’s 18 million shoppers.”

BFC chief executive Caroline Rush said: “Each of the inaugural BFC Contemporary designers possess incredible creativity and strong brand concepts. With invaluable support from eBay, these designers mark a new wave in British contemporary design, the rise of which we aim to fuel with this new initiative.”

The inaugural designers – Alexis Barrell, Georgia Hardinge, Paper London, Prism and Zoë Jordan – were invited to apply by the BFC and eBay, however the scheme will be open to all contemporary designers next year.

This is the second time the BFC has partnered with eBay. In 2012, eBay sponsored the BFC’s Fashion Forward initiative, which supported designers including Holly Fulton, House of Holland, Louise Gray and Mary Katrantzou.

Topics