Were there any surprises, you ask? Well, probably not. Mary Katrantzou, Roksanda Ilincic, Peter Pilotto, Emilia Wickstead, and Nicolas Kirkwood have been shortlisted for the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund. A grant worth a not-at-all-shabby £200,000.
While there are certainly no unknown or out-of-left-field names on the shortlist, perhaps the only one that may raise an eyebrow or two is Emilia Wickstead. Although the Kiwi designer has no shortage polished A-list fans — K-Mid and Sam Cam, we're look at you — she perhaps lacks the high-rolling notoriety (and high profile collaborations) of her fellow shortlistees.
Still, the BFC and Alexandra Shulman clearly believe that she's got what it takes to go the distance, and who are we to argue? Designers nominated are those considered to be poised for global domination, but remain in need of a little cash to kick-start said domination. Previous winners include Erdem, Christopher Kane and last year's winner, Jonathan Saunders. The '13 winner will be announced next month.
"We have an incredibly strong shortlist of contenders for the fund. It is wonderful to see the impressive talent coming out of London that has reached a stage in their business where they can qualify for the prize”, the British Vogue ed commented.
Alexandra, we couldn't agree more, but the big question is: Who's got the edge to scoop the big money? Place your bets in the comments...