The Graduate Fashion Foundation Launches The Fashion Accelerator 2024

10 mentorship opportunities available to fashion creatives from underrepresented backgrounds.

Are you a designer who needs support growing your business? Are you a photographer wanting to take your skills to the next level? Are you a stylist trying to go from free time to full-time?

Whether you’re a photographer who needs help getting a consistent workflow or a creative director who needs more pitching opportunities, the Graduate Fashion Foundation’s Fashion Accelerator is here to help you break through and transform your business or brand.

The Fashion Accelerator is a ten-month mentorship programme aimed at fashion creatives from underrepresented communities. 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, cover a comprehensive range of topics, and connect them with a high-profile industry mentor who will provide one-to-one support throughout the year. Midway through the programme, participants will have the unique opportunity to sell their products or promote their services at Graduate Fashion Week, which sees over 20,000 guests across four days.

The Accelerator is open to young fashion talent who graduated with a BA degree from a GFF Member University between 2016-2023.

10 promising creatives will be selected as participants by a diverse industry judging panel and invited to join The Fashion Accelerator, starting in March 2024.

Participants will learn from an expert community of industry practitioners through online and in-person masterclasses and workshops throughout the year, plus receive priority access to networking events and useful resources.

The programme will dive deep into the intricacies of sustaining a business in the fashion industry, whether a brand, publication, creative agency or other fashion venture. Focusing everything a young creative needs to know - from branding and marketing, financial management, and pricing products/services, to managing business costs and protecting intellectual property - The Fashion Accelerator aims to push the next generation of fashion talent ahead in their careers.