Entrepreneurship

Designers from RaiseFashion’s third masterclass cohort are navigating shifting tariffs, supply chain challenges and pricing pressures. Here, BoF explores how four designers leverage their heritage to build their businesses — finding resilience through mentorship, storytelling and community.

With sustainability falling down the priority list for fashion executives in 2025, emerging designers are looking to meet demands for conscious consumerism — but face substantial challenges in an oversaturated market facing macroeconomic limitations. BoF sits down with Felita Harris, co-founder of non-profit RaiseFashion that provides financial, educational and community support for underrepresented designers focused on sustainability goals, to learn more.

The Bicester Collection launches the third edition of the Unlock Her Future prize — an entrepreneurship programme aimed at supporting women social impact entrepreneurs focused on furthering the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. BoF sits down with The Bicester Collection’s chief culture officer, Chantal Khoueiry, to learn more.

The city’s unusual status as both a garment manufacturing and entertainment industry hub is proving a potent lure for fashion brand founders.

A number of start-ups are expanding beyond denim, opening stores and navigating an increasingly competitive and fragmented market by staying close to their consumer.

BoF’s Imran Amed talks with grime MC and rapper Skepta about the revival of his clothing brand Mains, the parallels between music and fashion, and how embracing failure has been key to his creative journey.

In the third and final part of this series, BoF Insights spoke with investors and brand leaders about how to secure future growth before pursuing costly expansion activities in today’s tough financing environment.

Today’s brands are constrained by crises across direct-to-consumer and wholesale distribution and limited external funding pools. But it is still possible to scale a small label, even in today’s tough environment. In part two of this series, BoF Insights spoke with investors and brand leaders about how to translate cultural heat into commercial success via diversification.