O bscure Couture, a Glasgow-based fashion house, has "benefited massively" from Starter for 6, Scotland's premier start-up and investment programme for creative industry entrepreneurs.
Designer Lyndsey Pagan said that participating in the programme had helped the east end duo have their clothes featured in Vogue magazine, and in an performance on The X Factor by the band Little Mix. The models pictured above are wearing items from the firm's 2013 Fake Believe collection. Application for this year's round of Starter for 6 awards are open now and close on January 13.
Established seven years ago by Nesta, the UK Government innovation body, the programme has since 2009 been delivered by the Cultural Enterprise Office, a Scottish creative industries support quango.
The scheme is credited with developing the skills and talents of 186 businesses and 219 participants, awarding £590,000 in investment to 105 creative industry start-ups. This year's main programme will run in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, and is open to applicants from throughout Scotland.
Successful applicants will receive four enterprise training sessions designed "to provide the business skills to turn ideas into reality", covering everything from costing, pricing and marketing to pitching and presentation skills, peer mentoring or coaching, networking opportunities, and the chance to pitch for £10,000 of grant funding at the end of the training programme.
As well as several fashion and design companies, last year's winning companies included a creator of apps for sports fans (including a Tartan Army passport), a sustainable furniture company, a hip hop record label and a company staging bespoke brand-building dining events.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop, speaking at an event last month to showcase the 17 companies which had qualified for the programmes in 2013, said: "Supporting these businesses and helping them grow is a major focus for the Scottish Government. If you look at the success of previous recipients of Starter for 6 it is clear to see the valuable contribution this sector makes to Scotland's economy and also our nation's collective creativity.
"Scotland's creative industries contribute £2.8 billion to Scotland's economy and support 64,100 jobs; it is imperative that we support this wealth of talent and entrepreneurship, and continue to enhance our global reputation as a place of innovation, ingenuity and inspiration."
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