Achilleas Constantinou has over 40 years’ experience at the forefront of British Fashion, always directing Ariella design teams to award winning achievements. In his long career, Achilleas has served the fashion industry on numerous committees and trade bodies. He was a founder member of the Fashion Industry Action Group (FIAG) (responsible for the formation of the British Council) and an ex-Chairman of the Women’s Wear Executive Committee of the BKCEC (British Knitting and Clothing Export Council). He also served on The Advisory Board of the London Fashion Exhibition, and on the Midseason Exhibition Committee.

He is a founder member and current Director of The British Fashion Council (BFC), and the ex-chairman of the BFC Mainstream Fashion Committee. In May 1998 he was appointed to the Board of Management of the British Knitting and Clothing Export Council. He also founded the British Fashion Design Protection Association (FDPA) in 1974 whose aims and objectives were to protect the interests of creative and original designers and seek appropriate changes in the Copyright Laws to this end. The FDPA has, more than any other body, been responsible for the dramatic changes in the Law that have occurred since its formation in 1974 and the Law has now, through its concerted efforts, effectively been changed, achieving the extension of Copyright to cover original fashion designs in a High Court action in 1980 in which Mr. Constantinou appeared as an expert witness. He has also appeared on numerous national television and radio programs, including ITV, BBC and CNN discussing fashion topics.

In 2007 he was appointed to the Design Board of Skillfast UK and to the Graduate Fashion week Industry and Media Board. In 2009 he was invited onto the board of UKFT. The FDPA’s most recent success has been to negotiate legal fees insurance for its members, at rates even the smallest designer can afford, thus enabling the smallest “David” to take on the biggest “Goliath” if justice was on his side. As Chairman of the FDPA, Mr. Constantinou was also the UK’s representative at the EEC meeting of the Association Européene des Industries de L’Habillement and is acknowledged as the leading lay authority in the UK on Intellectual Property Law in the fashion industry. Mr. Constantinou has appeared in Debrett’s People of Today since 1992.