Sir Stuart Rose Steps Down as Chairman of BFC, Harold Tillman Named as Successor

PARIS, Jan 24, 2008 / FW/ — Beginning the Spring 2009 season, the British Fashion Council (BFC) will be headed by Harold Tillman, Chairman of Jaeger, replacing Sir Stuart Rose, who is stepping down after the Fall 2008 London season slated on Feb 10 – 15, 2008.

Sir Stuart Rose, who took BFC’s helm in 2004, had been instrumental in turning around the fortunes of the organization. Through his efforts, the BFC secured funding from the London Development agency as part of a three-year strategy as it seeks to build London Fashion Week and support emerging designer businesses. Sir Stuart also established BFC’s own management team.

Commenting on his term, Sir Stuart said: “This has been a challenging and rewarding post. I feel fortunate to have worked with the British Fashion Council and the wealth of talented designers we have in this country.”

Sir Stuart Rose’s successor, Harold Tillman is the current Chairman of Jaeger. An alumnus of the London College of Fashion, Mr. Tillman has a track record of maximizing the potential of fashion businesses. As well as his Chairmanship of Jaeger, he also chairs UK’s third largest department store, Allders of Croydon, and Lord Coe’s private company Complete Leisure Group.

A big believer is supporting emerging talents; Harold Tillman also created a £1million scholarship program for students at The London College of Fashion.

On being named the next BFC Chairman, Mr. Tillman commented, “London is internationally recognized as the most creative and exciting fashion capital. We have the best design colleges in the world which each year create a strong pool of talented designers wishing to start their own label business. Through the BFC and London Fashion Week we will offer support to these fledgling businesses, helping them to develop a market and attain sustainable growth.”

As the next BFC Chairman, Harold Tillman follows the footsteps of an illustrious list of leaders in fashion: Cyril Kern, Sir Edward Rayne, Sir Ralph Halpern, Clinton Silver, John Hoerner, Nicholas Coleridge and Sir Stuart Rose.