Meet The Brands - The Fashion Accelerator 2026 Launch
The Fashion Accelerator Programme, supported by PVH Foundation and Dazed, is designed to support participants from underrepresented backgrounds who are looking to kickstart their fashion businesses or brands. The Fashion Accelerator programme 2026 launch day, kick starts the programme, and was held in London at The Mills Fabrica, showcasing the cohort of 9 brands, presentations and panel talks with industry leaders. Each participating brand brings a unique vision and displays an outstanding potential for growth, reflecting the programme’s commitment to developing future careers.
The day began with brand presentations, offering an opportunity for each participant to introduce their brand and receive valuable feedback from peers and Anna Woods, founder of Positive Retail, as part of the selected cohort:
Callie Therese Holden – Designer
Kemi Danielle Gbadebo – Designer
Mia Mazzocchi – Journalist & Founder of Storm Magazine
“It’s very very important that we are hearing their stories, listening to their ideas, and supporting them and their success.”
Next on the agenda was A Finance 101 Workshop with Vikram Menon:
Menon is the Director of Fashionex Business Consulting and a Chartered Accountant with more than 20 years’ experience supporting creative entrepreneurs such as Poster Girl, he is also a partner of British Fashion Council, Paul Smith Foundation and Copenhagen Fashion Week. The talk offered advice on the logistics of growing a business and had opportunities for the brands to gain financial advice on their individual practices.
“Fashion business is a business, and its still really important for emerging designers to get comfortable with the numbers.”
Storytelling, Cultural Collaboration and Community Panel:
Moderated by Maisie Bovingdon, the talk explored community with guests: Joshua Ewusie, Founder, Designer and Creative Director of Ewusie Studios, Rebecca Cereceda, Corporate Partnerships Manager at Somerset House and Rae Martins Ashton, Communications, Marketing & Talent Executive at Dazed Media. They discussed why it’s so key to build a genuine community to build a successful brand, how to leverage opportunities successfully and working with creatives from across culture including music, fashion and performance.
“The rule book is being changed and it creates great opportunities for people to think outside of the box, which I think is exciting especially for the generation that is coming up now.”
The Creative Journey, A Fireside Chat with Wale Adeyemi and Joel Adebayo:
A chat with Wale Adeyemi, the Director of B-side By Wale and former creative director of New Era Cap, and Joel Adebayo, the Co-founder and Director of Not Just Another Store - discussing the importance of passion in their respective careers. Exploring their four pillars with the cohort: Gift - what you are naturally good at, Purpose - the North star, Passion - the constantly evolving ‘how?’, Alignment - the end goal.
“I was surprised by the interaction of the guys in the room, I think they were very intrigued by the Creative Journey and they added so much great value.”
The day commenced with networking drinks, offering the brands opportunities to gain new connections, give out business cards and collaborate with industry, welcoming model agents, buyers, journalists and producers, to kick start a creative network.
“It’s been so inspiring to hear people’s stories and see what they are up to, it really does feel like a community.”
The Fashion Accelerator is a development programme, inclusive of mentorship, a spring seminar series, panels, networking, and a spot in The Innovators of Tomorrow showroom at Truman Brewery in June. It exists to inform, support and scale founders and entrepreneurs in the early stages of their career journeys, giving them a solid business foundation.
The programme will provide participants with resources, covering a comprehensive range of topics: including HR, strategy, branding, communications, digital, legal, retail and buying. They will also be connected with an expert industry mentor who will provide one-to-one support. At the end of the programme, participants will have the unique opportunity to sell their products or promote their services in the Innovator Showroom at Graduate Fashion Week 2026, which sees over 20,000 guests across four days.
The programme targets emerging fashion talent at an early career stage, across disciplines including design, photography, styling, creative direction, and more, with a focus on individuals from under-represented backgrounds.
Programme Calendar 2026:
October 2025: Applications opened
January 2026: Applications closed
February 2026: Judging day at The Mills Fabrica
March 2026: Panels, networking and launch event at Mills Fabrica
April & May: Spring seminar series
May: Blackhorse lane atelier tour and Dazed studio tour
15th - 18th June 2026: The Innovators of Tomorrow showroom at GFW26
