“I’m extremely excited for the opportunity to grow Intotum and to see real social change for the disabled community. I have to thank Frances, Mirela, Aasia and the whole Graduate Futures team at London College of Fashion for their guidance and support!” - Hanan Tantush - Founder of Intotum and winner of LCF Enterprise Challenge 2023
LCF are pleased to announce this year’s winners of the annual Enterprise Challenge; a platform that showcases the creative talents and entrepreneurial mindsets of current London College of Fashion students to the LCF community as well as key members of industry. To celebrate the event, Emily Taylor, Co-Founder of SAGES, joined to give an insightful talk discussing how their business has developed since winning the challenge.
The first-place prize of the 2023 Enterprise Challenge Award was awarded to Hanan Tantush, BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology: Womenswear, for her pitch on Intotum, an adaptive clothing company providing innovative solutions to common clothing problems. Tantush’ collaborations with charity organizations and the disabled community have enabled her to create a range of clothing specifically designed for wheelchair users, incorporating built-in functionalities. In recognition she will receive a share of a £10,000 prize as funding to support the realisation of their business ideas in addition a one year of Soho Friends Membership from Soho Works.
Second prize was awarded to Grace Thomas, MA Footwear, for her pitch around Forgotten No More, a creative enterprise designing and creating inclusive and expressive women's footwear. Third-prize was awarded to Maria Tambawala, BA (Hons) Creative Direction for Fashion, for her pitch around LOOMS, a virtual repository of memories designed to serve as a personal history and a modern heirloom that evolves and adapts alongside its user. Highly commended prizes went to Baoluo Ye, MA Fashion Entrepreneurship and Innovation, for his pitch on Primal Matter and to duo Martina Kocianova, BA Jewellery Design (CSM), and Julia Sadowska, BSc (Hons) Fashion Management, for their pitch around Martina Kocianova Jewellery.
Now in its seventh year, the annual event culminates every June after an open call for submissions to LCF students across all year groups for ideas for an innovative product or service that they feel could make a real difference to a community, client or consumer group.
This year’s final took place on 15 June at Soho Works 180 Strand in London, where the five LCF students short-listed as finalists 'pitched’ their ideas to a judging panel of esteemed industry representatives comprised of Linda Roberts, Head Judge: Director LCF Graduate Futures and Business and Innovation, Liam Osbourne: Managing Director at Dazed Studios, Kristina Brjazgunova: Head of Product Innovation at YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP, Angela Baidoo: Freelance Fashion Forecaster and Senior Strategist at WGSN and Ioan Williams: Regional Manager Soho Works.
“Each year, London College of Fashion’s Enterprise Challenge showcases the entrepreneurial spirit within our student community. It’s remarkable to witness how the business ideas being presented are increasingly shaped to create a tangible impact on both our industry and society. This year's finalists have key themes of inclusion, wellbeing, and sustainability at the forefront of their pitches, and with the invaluable support of our industry partners and collaborators, the LCF Enterprise Challenge remains an exceptional platform for propelling budding ideas forwards with a genuine potential to effect positive change.” - Linda Roberts, Director of Graduate Futures, Business and Innovation at London College of Fashion, UAL
"At Soho Works, we are thrilled to continue our existing partnership with LCF and their impressive roster of young emerging talent. Through hosting the annual Soho Works x LCF enterprise challenge and regular networking mixers, the partnership fosters creativity and collaboration, whilst introducing emerging new talent to the world of Soho Works." -Harry Atcherley‑Symes - Membership and Communications Manager at Soho Works