Management School graduate wins BFC Fashion Trust Prize

Published on

Jennifer Davies, MSc Operations and Supply Chain Management graduate, has been awarded the British Fashion Council  (BFC) Fashion Trust prize for the luxury fashion brand she co-directs.

NABIL NAYAL is the eponymous label of Syrian/British designer, Nabil El-Nayal, and focuses on ready to wear luxury fashion.  Jennifer, who previously worked in the music industry, partnered with Nabil and together they bootstrapped the business to get it off the ground.

The brand is now stocked internationally in China, Japan, USA and the Middle East with many famous names seen wearing it including Rihanna, Victoria Beckham, Florence Welch and Lady Gaga.

NABIL NAYAL’s latest achievement is the BFC Fashion Trust Grant which provides emerging British design talent with funding and business mentorship along with the opportunity to showcase their SS19 collection on the official London and Paris Fashion Week schedules.  The label was chosen for its exceptional effort and development in the areas around e-commerce, sustainability, production and wholesale expansion. 

Jennifer said, “We were hoping we had a good chance but we also knew there would be lots of strong candidates applying and that competition would be tough.  Nabil and I feel completely over the moon with the news.  It’s taken a lot of hard work and determination to get the brand to this point.

A lot of past recipients have gone on to achieve great things and so we’re excited to have this opportunity.”

The grant tops off an impressive 12 months for NABIL NAYAL which was also named as one of the eight finalists for the prestigious LVMH prize in June 2017.  The brand was selected out of 2,000 applicants and a shortlist of 21 other brands from around the world to present the vision for the business to a panel of LMVH directors and iconic designers at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. 

Jennifer is also finishing her first year of PhD study in the Marketing and Operations group at the Management School.  Her research is focusing on sustainable supply chain management in the fashion industry.