LBS student wins Future British Designers award

Loxley England co-founder Tess Andrews selected for prestigious Boden and British Fashion Council award

London Business School (LBS) student Tess Andrews is one of three emerging British fashion talents recognised as Future British Designers in a joint Boden and British Fashion Council (BFC) initiative, Future British.
“We have really ambitious plans for Loxley England,” said Andrews, who co-founded the luxury leather goods label with her brother James. “We envisage that it could eventually be as big as other British handbag brands, such as Mulberry – there’s no ceiling on where we could go with it. This award will make all the difference.”

Over the next 12 months Andrews will receive mentoring and financial support: she will enjoy direct access to Boden's leadership team, including the online clothing retailer’s chairman Johnnie Boden, and legal, banking and production support from the BFC's Fashion Business Network. 

“The publicity is going to be invaluable in raising the profile of our brand,” said Andrews, who is midway through an Executive MBA (EMBA) at LBS. “It’s also amazing to get such great support from successful, established people in the industry. Building a brand is a long process and we can always learn more.”

 

She described how her experience on the EMBA is benefiting the business: “It’s about maximising everything LBS has to offer. The community is so supportive; whenever I reach out they’re happy to help with specific advice – and my classmates have such creativity and enthusiasm for what I’m doing. It’s great to get suggestions from such a diverse range of backgrounds.”

Andrews has gone from strength to strength since she co-founded Loxley England two years ago. “Going forward, the practical support Boden and the BFC are offering is going to help us enormously – everything from supply chain and finance to areas neither James nor I have any experience in, such as PR and marketing.”

Boden and the BFC launched the initiative in 2015 to support emerging British designers as they seek to scale up. The two other up-and-coming designers selected for 2017 awards are footwear brand Dorateymur and jewellery designer Alighieri. 

Andrews holds qualifications in couture tailoring and womenswear pattern cutting, as well as an honours degree in politics, philosophy and economics from the University of Oxford.