Founder, fashion historian and author, Colin McDowell has always ensured that the Fashion Fringe judging panel reads like a who's who of the industry and the latest recruit certainly packs a well-known punch. News is that Donatella Versace will be joining the panel for the next two years - taking over the reigns from Tom Ford.

Commenting on the move Donatella said that she was "very honoured to be joining the committee of Fashion Fringe as their chairperson."

Now in its fifth year Fashion Fringe offers exciting British fashion designers the opportunity of a lifetime. The competition seeks out innovative fresh talent which can be developed into a strong viable business. Past success stories include: Basso & Brooke, Gavin Douglas and Aminaka Wilmont amongst others.

Fashion Fringe's Creative Director, Colin McDowell, explains the Fashion Fringe initiative: "Although London fashion has generally been considered innovative, young designers have often failed because of lack of experience and technical knowledge. It is hard for them to get industry advice because our manufacturing capacity is small. That is why Fashion Fringe has set up an International Advisory Committee of supporters, all of whom are highly respected in their fields, to give us the benefit of their experience, advice and opinions. They do not have executive status in Fashion Fringe: basically they are friends, people we trust and admire, people who share our enthusiasm for Fashion Fringe, people who have generously agreed to give us the advantage of their knowledge and expertise for which we are very grateful".

To apply to Fashion Fringe 2008 please visit the website www.fashionfringe.co.uk and read through the ‘dates’ section and the application process. The deadline for applications is the 2nd May 2008.

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