As Fashion Week turns heads in London, Brexit is on the mind of everyone in the fashion industry that might just make heads roll.
As designers premiere their new styles for the upcoming Autumn/Winter collections, many have the implications of Brexit on the back of their minds. Most of the styles featured at London Fashion Week will hit shelves on March 29, which is also when Britain is scheduled to separate from the European Union.
The fashion industry contributed $41 billion to the British economy in 2017, with a large portion of this business was trade with the EU. This means that the official separation could negatively effect these rates.
A the Brexit date nears with likely no-deal scenario looming, having to renegotiate trade deals is not looking possible. The British Fashion Council Chief Executive, Caroline Rush, says that talent and tariffs are one of the biggest factors in keeping the British fashion economy afloat.
She says that there are open negotiations with the EU, including working with 27 member states that need to agree to their negotiation terms. Brexit can also effect the workers in production factories that are members of other European nations working in Britain.
80 percent of staff from the Fashion Entr production factory are from Eastern Europe and have worked here for years, providing service to big British brands. The UK has a plan to end free movement of people and goods post-Brexit is causing uncertainty.
Jennifer Sutton is the development director for Fashion Enter says, “What we’ve got here is peoples’ lives, it’s real jobs, and it’s the skills [which] is what we’ve got to continue and remember. Made in Britain has got huge potential, but we need the work force to be able to do that.”
The UK fashion industry employs 890,000 people, with foreign relations being the key to the fashion industry finding talent abroad. The fashion industry leaders wants the UK to be able to continue to recruit and trade freely with the rest of Europe as they have in the past.
Famous UK fashion designer Katherine Hammett is known for mixing politics with her sense of fashion, and Brexit is a big piece of her upcoming collection. She features shirts printed with “Fashion hates Brexit second referendum now” and another with “Second Referendum Now”.
Hammett says that will not help the fashion industry, especially on a date that could effect the sales of the release of their collections on March 29. For more on the Brexit effect for London Fashion Week, check out the video above.
