1. Biz Network March 2025 1-36.qxp_Chamberlink 27/02/2025 10:25 Page 12
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Connecting fashion talent with industry BBC East Midlands Today presenter Anne Davies (pictured) founded Fashanne in 2016 to support third and final year students studying fashion and textiles at universities across the Midlands. Here she talks about the organisation’s 2025 awards and the opportunities available through them. (Photos by Rachael Connerton Photography)
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hat is powerful, glamorous, innovative and exciting? What unashamedly tackles themes and concepts such as mental health, sexuality, sustainability
and inclusion? The answer is an evening like no other that affects young lives in one of the most positive ways possible. The 2025 Fashanne – Fashion Designers of the Future Awards are taking place this June, hosted by me and fashion entrepreneur, author, sustainability champion and TV personality Patrick Grant. 12
business network March 2025
The awards connect young talent with industry and are based on the East Midlands’ great history in textiles, lace, knitwear, shoe making, silk and fashion – showcasing not only our great region but also the wealth of talent within it. Students, selected by their universities, are given the opportunity to compete and showcase their work at one of the most glittering nights in the East Midlands calendar. With internships from some of our bestknown fashion companies for the winners, it’s a great opportunity for the region’s most talented young designers.
Fashanne was set up to connect the next generation of talent to the industries that need them – and as the only programme of its kind outside London, it also helps in the retention of skills. This great region needs to harvest the talents being nurtured in our universities and keep them close. Fashanne is a way of helping do that as the category sponsors present internships to the winners they have selected. But it's not just one night – now a year-long programme for students, Fashanne also offers workshops and talks with some of the leading figures in the fashion industry.