Shelley Fox wins fashion award

THE FIRST major prize dedicated to giving young British designers a kick-start in the fashion industry was awarded last night by the Jerwood Foundation to London-based Shelley Fox.

The award, worth pounds 125,000, includes a cash prize of pounds 20,000, a retail order with the London department store Liberty worth pounds 25,000, sponsorship for two London Fashion Week collections, a pounds 50,000 interest free loan and a free studio for one year. In short, a dream come true for the 32- year-old Scunthorpe-born designer who has struggled against the odds to keep her business afloat.

This is the first time the first involvement in fashion for the Jerwood Foundation, launched in 1997 by the late John Jerwood to offer dedicated and responsible funding and sponsorship to the arts, sciences, and cultural arena. It has run a prize for artists since 1994 and for film scriptwriters since 1998.

Shelley Fox graduated in 1996 from Central Saint Martins, and her first collection was picked up by Liberty. "My clothes ... are about a feeling. Anyone can wear them because they are not fitted to the body in an obvious way. Rather the garment gives the body definition," she has said.