JONATHAN SAUNDERS has won the 2012BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund. The Scottish-born designer will receive a £200,000 cash prize, as well as a bespoke mentoring programme which will help him to achieve his business goals over the next 12 months.
"I am delighted that Jonathan has won this year's award," said Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman. "His recent collections have shown that he is a designer who can provide beautiful clothes that women enjoy wearing and he is in a great position to build on his current success."
Saunders beat off stiff competition for the award - from Peter Pilotto, Mary Katrantzou, Richard Nicoll, Roksanda llincic and Marios Schwab, as well as footwear label Nicholas Kirkwood. All nine of the shortlisted designers were invited to meet the fund's judging panel, chaired by Alexandra Shulman, and present their latest collections, as well as their business proposals.
"I'm so happy about winning the fund," said Saunders. "The last 12 months have been an exciting time for me and my team and I'm very proud of all their hard work. We have many exciting plans for the near future and this along with the support network provided by the BFC will enable us to achieve our goals."
Saunders first began his fashion career at Glasgow College of Art, before continuing his studies at Central Saint Martins - where he graduated in 2002 with a MA distinction in Fashion Textiles. In 2006, he won the BFC's British Enterprise award and since then his clothes can be seen on the front row each season, with shoppers vying to buy his printed, colourful and wearable design