Clearpay is BFC's new 'principal partner' for London Fashion Week

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 10, 2021

The British Fashion Council has unveiled Australian buy-now-pay-later giant Clearpay as its new Principal Partner for London Fashion Week. It’s a two-year deal and starting with this month’s digital LFW, the partners will “champion British fashion, support the UK retail industry, and give consumers more access to the designers and brands they love”.

The LFW websites now opens with the words "London Fashion Week presented by Clearpay".

Specifically, in 2021 Clearpay will work with the BFC “to integrate inclusive shoppable moments and dynamic interactive concepts — bringing the best of the British fashion industry to a wider group of consumers. Together, they will help ensure British designers continue to lead in innovation, creativity, accessibility and have the ability to build responsible and sustainable businesses”.

The link between the BFC and Clearpay isn’t a new one and goes back two years. The Australian firm has been a patron and partner to the group in recent years and it contributed £25,000 to the BFC Foundation Fashion Fund for the Covid Crisis in 2020.

Neither the company nor the BFC would put a value on the new link-up, but the BFC said Clerapay will underwrite all of the group's talent support initiatives for 2021/22, including NewGen, the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Trust and the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund.

The body contributes over £1 million to designers through the BFC Foundation each year and Clearpay is the first partner to support all of its initiatives in addition to London Fashion Week.

BFC CEO Caroline Rush said the new deal is part of the group continuing to develop London Fashion Week, “opening it up to a broader range of consumers and adapting it to the designers’ needs”.

Clearpay co-founder Nick Molnar added: “Through this partnership, we will continue to support British designers and the broader retail economy as we emerge from this terrible pandemic.”