Erdem Wins the BFC / Vogue Designer Fashion Fund

Ok so I'm being really naughty here since I'm really supposed to be compiling our annual It Guide to the hottest places to be / things to do etc, but I'm just so excited (I just can't hide it) and I wanted to share! Half Turkish, half Brit designer Erdem Moralioglu has just been announced as the very first winner of the Vogue / British Fashion Council Fashion Fund prize, which gives him GBP 200,000 (much needed for a young up-and-coming designer like him) and "access to direct level mentors across the industry", although I'm not entirely sure what that bit means. Either way, it's sure to bring him much attention and the added credentials won't hurt either.

He beat out some incredibly stiff competition, fighting off the likes of Nicholas Kirkwood and Marios Schwab for the title. I'm so pleased he won because to me this marks the triumph of beautiful, well tailored clothes that can be both otherworldly and inherently wearable at the same time. I say this with no exaggeration - every time I see someone wearing Erdem, my breath catches a hitch. His clothes have this way of making a statement for the wearer without swallowing them up or allowing them to hide behind them. It's the sort of beauty that enhances, not conceals, and I aim to one day have a few pieces by Erdem hanging in my wardrobe.

Oh, and click here for a lovely piece in The Telegraph on Erdem's (much deserved) growing popularity.