Claudia Schiffer and Roland Mouret join Fashion Fringe

Claudia Schiffer and Roland Mouret have joined the judging panel of this year's Fashion Fringe.

The supermodel and designer will join other big names in the fashion industry to help select a winner for the scheme, which every year finds an up-and-coming designer and awards them with the means to launch their own label and display their collections at London Fashion Week for two seasons.

Claudia said: "I have watched Fashion Fringe grow from strength to strength over the past few years, and am delighted to be able to add my support this year.

"Fashion Fringe is a fantastic business platform for any aspiring designer, and I look forward to helping some of London's creative design talent thrive and grow over the coming months."

Meanwhile, Roland talked of the importance of helping emerging talent in the industry and praised the scheme's creative director Colin McDowell for giving young hopefuls such an opportunity.

He told Vogue.com: "It's not just exciting, but also very relevant to feel part of Fashion Fringe where so many young talents take their journey in this amazing, frustrating world of fashion. What's better than to have Colin McDowell as a fairy godmother?"

Other judges include Anne Pitcher who is managing director of Selfridges and Roy Peach, Dean of London College of Fashion Graduate School.

The new panel takes over from Fashion Fringe's former honourary chairperson John Galliano, who was due to hold the role until 2012 - but is no longer involved in the programme after he was sacked from Dior for allegedly making anti-Semitic remarks during a drunken rant in Paris in February.