Molly Goddard Awarded 2018 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund

*Award-winner Molly Goddard with British Vogue's editor-in-chief Edward Enninful and the BFC's Chief Executive Caroline Rush / Photo: BFC*

Three months since announcing the creatives that had made the coveted shortlist, the British Fashion Council (BFC) has today awarded the 2018 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund to Molly Goddard. Staving off competition from Marques’ Almeida’s Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida, Samantha McCoach of Le Kilt, David Koma, Rejina Pyo and Huishan Zhang, the 29-year-old designer, perhaps best known for her distinctive tulle dresses, has secured a cash award of £200,000, plus access to investors and industry experts and a year-long mentoring program.

"Molly Goddard is an original,” said British Vogue’s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, who chaired the judging panel. “She has a singular vision and an extraordinary focus that has propelled her label to an international level, and is the definition of talent and what Britain does best in this creative industry." Indeed, the designer is proud of the fact that she has never relied on outside investment since launching her brand on a shoestring back in 2014. “We made money from making and selling clothes. It’s hard,” she told British Vogue. “We decided to just take it really slowly, and it’s amazing that it worked.”

Molly Goddard joins an impressive roster of previous BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund winners including Erdem, Christopher Kane, Mary Katrantzou, Nicholas Kirkwood, Peter Pilotto and Sophia Webster. Now based in east London, she is hoping that the award will allow her to add to her team of four. “I’d love to hire someone who can help with product development,” she said. And she also wants to develop her digital presence. “I want to make the best of everything - more interesting, more exciting clothes!”