The British Fashion Council (BFC) has announced that Clearpay will become the Principal Partner of London Fashion Week, starting from February 2021.

This new two-year partnership will champion British fashion, support the UK retail industry, and give consumers more access to the designers and brands they love. Known for its exceptional creative talent, from young designers to global luxury brands, London Fashion Week will work with Clearpay, a leader in responsible "Buy Now, Pay Later" payments, known as Afterpay outside the UK, to enable growth for the British fashion industry.

While the retail industry and consumers have been greatly impacted by the global pandemic, consumers have consistently shown strong support for local and small businesses in their communities which has been so critical during these challenging times. Specifically, in 2021 Clearpay will partner 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 aim to help ensure British designers continue to lead in innovation, creativity, accessibility and have the ability to build responsible and sustainable businesses. Core to Clearpay’s business is supporting new and emerging local brands, with the ultimate goal of accelerating the fashion and retail industry in 2021.

Clearpay have been a patron and partner of the BFC for two years, contributing £25,000 to the BFC Foundation Fashion Fund for the Covid Crisis in 2020. This year's partnership will also underwrite all of the BFC's talent support initiatives for 2021/22, including NEWGEN, the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund and the BFC Fashion Trust, which recognise excellence and provide support to the best British designers. Each year the BFC contributes over £1million to designers through the BFC Foundation (Reg. Charity 1185152), which brings all of the BFC's charitable initiatives under one umbrella to enable the growth and success of the British fashion industry. Clearpay is the first partner to support all of these initiatives in addition to London Fashion Week.

Caroline Rush, Chief Executive British Fashion Council, commented: "London Fashion Week is one of the 'Big Four' leading creative showcases in the world. As we entered a significant period of change last year, and in light of the challenges brought by COVID-19 and Brexit, we pivoted and adapted the event very quickly, moving to a digital platform accessible to both industry and public with evergreen content published throughout the year. We look forward to working with Clearpay to continue developing London Fashion Week, opening it up to a broader range of consumers and adapting it to the designers' needs".

"We are thrilled to engage in a deeper partnership with the BFC to support the future of British fashion", said Nick Molnar, Co-Founder of Clearpay. "Fashion and retail are deeply embedded in Clearpay's roots, and through this partnership we will continue to support British designers and the broader retail economy as we emerge from this terrible pandemic. Equally, we are excited to work with the British Fashion Council to make London Fashion Week more accessible, inclusive and sustainable for consumers and retailers in the coming months and years".