OnlyFans has announced a new creative fashion fund for designers and creators.
The site – which allows content creators to sign up fans as subscribers, and offer them exclusive content – is best known for its association with sex workers, who can sell pornographic content.
But OnlyFans has regularly stressed that it wants to make its platform accessible to all kinds of creators, such as artists, chefs and celebrities.
Three winners will be selected for the fund, with the first-place candidate receiving $50,000 (£37,000), while those in second and third place will each be awarded $25,000 (£19,000).
Applicants can submit five of their best designs or styled looks, plus a short submission video.
Competitors will be judged by a panel including stylists Law Roach and Maeve Reilly, and makeup artist Sir John, while fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff will act as mentor.
The initiative aims to serve as a launch pad for emerging creatives and will be documented as a television series, hosted by reality TV star Francesca Farago, that will air on OFTV, OnlyFans’ free video platform.
Six creatives will be flown to Los Angeles to appear in the show.
“The OnlyFans creative fund provides creators [with] the opportunity to have their work reviewed by leading forces in the fashion industry that will help them jump start their careers,” OnlyFans chief executive officer, Ami Gan told WWD.
“OnlyFans is a creator-first platform and has always had a commitment to support its creators across a range of verticals.
“This is one additional pulse point we’re giving our community around this sentiment,” she said.
“OnlyFans allows creators to engage with communities in a very dynamic and personal way,” Minkoff added.
“Fashion is such a fast-paced and cluttered industry, so a platform like OnlyFans encourages more discovery and interactions between creators and their communities.”
The fund is the second iteration offered by the controversial platform.
In March 2021, the streaming site launched an £80,000 cash prize for emerging artists in the UK music scene.
And in August 2021, the site announced it would bar “sexually explicit content” from the platform following requests from investors.
The decision was met with widespread outcry from sex workers, many of whom relied on the site for income, especially throughout the pandemic, prompting OnlyFans to reverse the decision within days.
A statement published online at the time read: “OnlyFans stands for inclusion and we will continue to provide a home for all creators.”
