The British fashion association British Fashion Council (BFC) has to look for a new chair. Current chair Stephanie Phair has resigned from her post, online fashion magazine Business of Fashion reports, citing an exclusive press statement. The reason for Phair’s departure is not mentioned in the statement.
Phair, who is also Customer Director at online fashion platform Farfetch, became Chair of the BFC in May 2018. At that time, she succeeded Natalie Massenet, the founder of online fashion retailer Net-a-porter.
Phair was Chairman of the BFC during some of the most difficult years the British fashion industry has ever seen. During the pandemic, many fashion companies have struggled and the BFC, which lives mostly on grants and donations, has had to cut its funding by almost half. Added to this was Brexit; Changes in taxes and trade tariffs made things even more difficult for companies.
“It was a time like no other,” Phair told Business of Fashion. However, she can confirm that despite the challenges, the organization has made progress. It has been further streamlined and extended to individuals and parties outside the traditional system of fashion weeks, and relations with the UK government have also been strengthened.
Phair is looking forward to “the new chapter” of the BFC, she told Business of fashion. I’ll definitely be cheering for them from the sidelines.
This translated and edited post previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.