International Young Fashion Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 award

Competition & Award information and application procedure for Sri Lanka:

The British Council announces the launch of the inaugural International Young Fashion Entrepreneur of the Year (IYFEY) 2008 award - to champion and celebrate the importance of creative entrepreneurs working in the field of fashion.

The British Council's goal is to showcase innovation in fashion promotion using the UK as the nexus for cultural, creative and commercial exchange.

The Sri Lankan winner will be one of ten international finalists: and will Contend for the title of International Young Fashion Entrepreneur of the Year (IYFEY) 2008 award alongside 9 other finalists from around the world.

Fashion sector definition

For the purpose of this award participants can be drawn from any of the following areas of the fashion business:

. Fashion, textile, accessories or perfume design and production
. Fashion promotion: shows, exhibitions, festivals, events
. Fashion retail: buying, merchandising
. Fashion product research, sourcing, supply chain management
. Fashion marketing, PR, branding, journalism
. Fashion publishing, communications, websites.

We recognise that a participant may strongly influence the business of fashion without being a practising fashion designer.

Definition of a creative entrepreneur

For the purpose of this award programme we are defining creative entrepreneurs as follows:

. Somebody working in the fashion industry (as defined above) who is able to demonstrate business success in the classic terms of business growth (profit, market share, employees) and/or in terms of their reputation (quality and aesthetic) amongst their peers.

. Somebody working in the fashion industry (as defined above) who has developed a successful (in terms of impact and reach) social or not-for-profit enterprise in this sector.

. Somebody working in the fashion industry (as defined above) who has shown leadership in the industry by championing its development in their country.

. Somebody working in the fashion industry (as defined above) who has developed initiatives (exhibitions, trade fairs, educational courses/institutions etc.) that develop and grow the market for the fashion in their country.

IYFEY 2008 Sri Lanka award - The application process:

Eligibility

A participant must:

. Be aged between 25 and 35 (minimum 25 & maximum 35 by 1 February 2008)

. Already work in the fashion sector (as defined above)

. Be entrepreneurial and have shown their ability in the promotion of the fashion business in their country, in either a commercial context, public context, or both.

. Through their character, drive and abilities demonstrate their potential to be a future leader of the sector in their country.

. Have English language skills to IELTS 6 - 'competent user' or above.

Timeline

Application forms will be available to download - www.britishcouncil.org/srilanka

. 1 October 2007 - Deadline for applications to reach the British Council.

. Week of 15 October 2007 - selection committee to short-list 10 applicants.

. Week of 22 October 2007 - finalists will be interviewed and asked to make a presentation about their work and vision for Sri Lanka's fashion industry to a judging panel.

. 1 November 2007 - the National winner to be announced and the winner's name and details to be submitted to British Council UK for consideration for IYFEY 2008 UK award.

. February 2008 - National winner leaves for the UK for tour (dates TBC dependent on dates of London Fashion Week, which are currently still being decided).

The Award

The National winner will be:

. Showcased at the Colombo Fashion Weekend in November 2007

. Given an all expenses paid trip to the UK to compete for the IYFEY 'international' title.

. Presentation Skills training prior to leaving for the UK (if necessary).

To coincide with a new British Council UK award

IYFEY is the latest in a series of International Young Creative Entrepreneur (IYCE) awards, joining established awards for the International Young Publisher of the Year (IYPY); the International Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year (IYDEY) and the International Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year (IYMEY) and an upcoming award for entrepreneurs in the film/TV business. To date 33 countries have participated in the UK programme.

National winner's UK Programme

In early February 2008 (dates TBC) the finalists will arrive in the UK for a 10-12 day tour of the UK national fashion industry.

This programme, which will be created with UK partners, will take them to London and at least one other UK region/city (tentatively Yorkshire/Leeds or the East Midlands/Nottingham) to meet leaders of the fashion sector.

The tour will comprise visits, meetings, seminars and events and shows as part of London Fashion Week. It will also include a master-class with Sir Paul Smith (www.paulsmith.co.uk) during which the finalists will be able to question him about the development of his highly successful fashion business.

The programme will be tailored to the finalists' interests, and include both a group itinerary for the finalists to get a shared overview of the best of the UK fashion scene and specific meetings to introduce finalists to UK contacts of particular interest to them for commercial or collaborative purposes.

Details are TBC but during IYFEY we anticipate finalists will:

. Be promoted at a British Council space in a London Fashion Week's exhibition.

. Be included in an exhibition of fashion design from the 10 emerging markets represented in IYFEY - tentatively to be shown in prominent retail windows in London and/or another UK city.

. Participate in the IYFEY award ceremony, where the inaugural award winner will be announced.

As mentioned specifically this will include attendance at events at:

London Fashion Week (Feb 2008) www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/ LFW is run by the British Fashion Council (BFC), the official voice of the designer fashion industry.

It aims, with the help of industry benefactors, to promote British fashion design worldwide. London Fashion Week is now established as one of London's premier events, attracting a target audience of key fashion leaders, retailers and press who attend this bi-annual showcase for British designer fashion.

LFW includes catwalk shows and a trade exhibition as well as the world's leading new designer sponsorship scheme. New Generation. The latest LFW version, in February 2007, demonstrated once again that London is one of the world's most vibrant and creative capitals, and saw the largest ever attendance of UK buyers, international press, photographers and broadcast crews.

The 49 designers on the catwalk and 200 designers in the exhibition attracted over 400 photographers and broadcast crews, who were accredited to cover the event.

We are in discussion with the BFC to determine how IYFEY could fit in their LFW programme, our aim is to find a place within their schedule to promote the award, secure passes for the finalists and create the awards ceremony as an event in LFW's calendar.

Presentation of work

We are also in discussion with other Fashion contacts and partners about the opportunity of using shop windows in London and or/another UK city to showcase fashion designs from the participating countries.

The precise details of this opportunity are still being discussed and negotiated. Our aim is to create an opportunity to showcase a piece of work from each participating country, work that has not previously been seen or licensed in the UK.

Judging Process in the UK for the IYFEY 2008 award

The IYFEY judging process will take place during the UK tour. The judges will include Susanne Tide-Frater (former Creative Director at Selfridges and Harrods). All of the finalists will be interviewed and asked to make a presentation about their work and vision for their country's fashion industry to a judging panel of elite members of leading UK fashion entrepreneurs.

The winner will be chosen on this basis. A full brief about the judging procedure and criteria will be provided to all officers, finalists, and judges in due course.

Award

The winner of the award of International Young Fashion Entrepreneur of the Year will be announced at an awards ceremony during the UK visit.

Their prize is a financial award (7,500 sterling pounds), which must be linked to the UK and tailored to the winner's specific needs. Ideas include for him/her to take a course in the UK, fund a placement in UK industry, bring over UK specialists to run workshops in-country, or work on collaborative projects with contacts from their visit to the UK.

The winner will be encouraged to come up with their own proposal, and both the local British Council office and the specialist art form departments in London will be involved in the process of agreeing how the prize money should be spent.

Wrap around activity to ensure programme reach and sustainability

To maximise the potential of this programme we will build into it a series of media opportunities and activities. As a competition in which the winner has the opportunity to visit one of the leading global creative economy hubs, the programme has significant media potential.

Similarly, once our national winner returns home, we will build into the programme a series of interviews and seminars which will be delivered by the finalist; with a view to sharing his/her experience as widely as possible.

Make the winner an 'iconic' figure who young people would want to emulate and enhance our selection process for future years and reach out further into our local-creative entrepreneur community.

Ownership of the award

The award has been created by the British Council and all intellectual property rights relating to the award will be vested in the British Council. The British Council will be free to negotiate with third parties for sponsorship of the award, or in any other way, including title sponsorship for the award.

We aim to find sponsorship for the programme and to involve UK industry in both the development of the UK tour and the judging of the award.

British Council, www.britishcouncil.org/srilanka