Fashion hopefuls dress for success with the help of National Lottery funding

A Merseyside community group that helps create the fashion design superstars of the future has been awarded £10,000 of National Lottery funding to set up a series of new wellbeing workshops.

Iconic NW CIC has received the award from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK, to launch a series of free programmes for 16-29 year olds in Liverpool who are looking to build a career in the fashion industry.

The sessions will teach young people upcycling, alterations, fabric work, creative drawing and fashion design, and tackle issues relating to loneliness and mental wellbeing by bringing young people together in a creative environment.

Each year, the programme culminates in a fashion show, which gives members an opportunity to improve their confidence by showcasing their skills to an audience that includes established designers and industry insiders.

Iconic is on a mission to break down the barriers that many young people face when building a career in fashion, and they are very vocal about the need for greater diversity within the industry.

Gemma Gosling runs Iconic with the help of her fellow directors and industry professionals Fern Thompson, a model, and Debbie Payne, who has her own fashion label.

Gemma Gosling, Director at Iconic NW CIC said: “We would like to say a massive thank you to National Lottery players for helping to provide us with this much appreciated funding. It’s very important to create opportunities for young people through projects that bring people together to improve mental wellbeing.

“During our time in the industry, we have noticed that the fashion industry can be very exclusive. We are doing what we can to change this by getting all corners of the community involved.

“One of our main goals is to break the stigma and get the message out there that anyone should be able to do fashion. We are working hard to create as many opportunities as possible for young people in Liverpool, building their confidence and improving their social circles as a way of opening doors.”

One person that has benefited is Sheru Gulati, who has been working with Iconic since it launched in 2017. He is now a professional model and has featured in a number of high profile shows, such as London Fashion Week.

He said: “Iconic NW CIC has always taken a very personal and transparent approach to all its learners and people within the community, they have always made sure everyone feels very welcome and looked after.

“It has given me massive amounts of experience on the runway and again allowed me to network with many more people and organisations. It has enabled me to work with music video producers and fashion brand photo shoots, photographer and fashion companies and propelled me to further myself in the fashion industry.”

Iconic currently works with over 200 young people in Liverpool and aims to increase this with the help of the funding. It is also hoping to establish a larger team of volunteers to help develop its range of workshops.

Iconic is one of 90 charities and community groups across Liverpool to have been awarded more than £5.2 million of National Lottery funding over the last four months*. Liverpool isn’t alone in benefiting from National Lottery funding. Today it was announced that almost £252 million has been distributed to just over 5,000 community organisations across England in the past four months*.

The National Lottery Community Fund awards grants to strengthen society and improve lives across the UK. Thanks to National Lottery players, it will distribute at least £4 billion by 2030, supporting activities that create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable.

Gillian Halliwell, Head of Regional Funding for The National Lottery Community Fund in the North West, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players and the hard work and dedication of local groups and projects, such as Iconic NW CIC, this funding will make a big difference to people’s lives. The quality of applications we receive speaks volumes of the care and ingenuity of local people - we’re delighted that our grants are being used to support great projects that strengthen communities and improve lives in our region in many ways.”

National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. Thanks to them, last year The National Lottery Community Fund was able to distribute over half a billion pounds (£588.2 million) of life-changing funding to communities.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk

Date published: 25 July, 2023
Region: England (North West)

Notes to Editors

* These figures are for funding awarded from 25 February – 30 June 2023.

About The National Lottery Community Fund 

We are the largest non-statutory community funder in the UK – community is at the heart of our purpose, vision and name.

We support activities that create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable and that will strengthen society and improve lives across the UK.

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with Government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives.  

As well as responding to what communities tell us is important to them, our funding is focused on four key missions, supporting communities to:

1. Come together

2. Be environmentally sustainable

3. Help children and young people thrive

4. Enable people to live healthier lives.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, we distribute around £500 million a year through 10,000+ grants and plan to invest over £4bn of funding into communities by 2030. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.  

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £47 billion has been raised and more than 670,000 individual grants have been made across the UK - the equivalent of around 240 National Lottery grants in every UK postcode district.

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