GCU honors British Fashion Council's CEO Caroline Rush

31 Mar '14

3 min read

The Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council Caroline Rush is to be made an Honorary Professor at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) and gave her Inaugural Professorial Lecture at the GCU British School of Fashion on Thursday, March 27.

In her lecture titled ‘The Evolution of British Fashion’, Professor Rush examined how fashion has evolved over the past 20 years and anticipated how it will develop until the end of this decade, with particular focus on key industry figures and the “commercialisation of creativity”.

GCU Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Pamela Gillies CBE said: “The GCU British School of Fashion is delighted and honoured to recognise Caroline Rush’s many achievements at the British Fashion Council through the conferment of an Honorary Professorship in Fashion Business. Caroline has been an outstanding advocate in support of British fashion talent. Her influence is truly global and her impact has been to enhance significantly the prospects of young professionals as they enter the fashion industry.”

The British School of Fashion also announced the launch of two new Masters programmes and a new Women in Fashion research programme, building on its pioneering work to meet the evolving needs of a fast-paced industry.

Professor Rush, who is originally from Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, has led the British Fashion Council since 2009. Her appointment heralded the return of designers and brands including Burberry, Jonathan Saunders, Matthew Williamson, Preen and Pringle of Scotland to the London Fashion Week schedule.

Over the past years she has overseen the expansion of the BFC’s LONDON show ROOMS to cover new markets including Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York and Sao Paolo. In 2012, she worked with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to launch Britain Creates, and introduced London Collections: Men, Britain’s only biannual menswear trade showcase.

Professor Rush has also presided over the launch of talent initiatives including Headonism, Rock Vault, and BFC’s Fashion Film. During her tenure, the first in-depth, statistics-based reports on the fashion industry have been published. Professor Rush is listed in the Evening Standard Power 1000 List 2012 and 2013, and in the 2013 Business of Fashion’s 500.

The new programmes being introduced at the British School of Fashion include a Masters in Digital Fashion which will explore how technology is transforming the industry and how consumers and businesses engage. Graduates of the programme will lead the way in developing how fashion brands are created, promoted and experienced in a digital world.

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