The British Fashion Council has announced the three winners of its BFC Changemakers Prize in Partnership with Swarovski. Launched earlier this year, the new initiative aims to discover and celebrate the fashion industry’s unsung stars who go above and beyond to strive for positive change, make outstanding contributions and inspire others on their journey.

The winners are:

Environment
John Hickling, Founder of The Glass Onion

John is the founder of Glass Onion in South Yorkshire, a vintage and remade clothing provider to the Highstreet which recently launched a DTC website. Sorting and grading fifteen tonnes of used clothing each week, it is growing a factory that only ‘remakes’ vintage clothing – cutting, sewing and remaking 12,000 remade pieces per month.

People
Cyndia Harvey, International Hairstylist

Cyndia has a unique vision for inclusive beauty, aiming to represent the entire spectrum of beauty and utilise her skills to fight for the visibility of underrepresented groups of society. A champion of Black women and Black hair, she created the powerful, thought-provoking film ‘This Hair of Mine’, 2017.

Community & Craftsmanship
Andrew Kenny, Owner of The London Embroidery Studio

Owner of The London Embroidery Studio in East London, Andrew uses traditional skills to generate new exciting techniques with cutting edge embroidery machines. Marrying new technology with the exportation of new techniques is at the heart of his creative strategy, developing embroidery for large and small fashion, interior, film, and TV clients worldwide. This is alongside offering courses to the local community, often with discounts for disadvantaged members/those on a low income.