'Are You Represented?' Press Release
Fashion Roundtable Representation and Inclusion Paper
Fashion Roundtable is pleased to announce that it has held several evidence sessions, webinars and external events on representation and inclusion in the fashion industry. The evidence sessions form part of the forthcoming Fashion Roundtable and the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Textiles & Fashion representation and inclusion policy paper, due to be released in the New Year. As secretariat for the APPG, Fashion Roundtable has heard evidence from industry stakeholders, freelancers and parliamentarians.
The fashion industry is part of the fastest-growing sector in the UK and is the largest of the creative industries. The sector’s GVA was valued at £32.3bn by Oxford Economics in 2018, and the luxury sector has almost doubled since 2015, according to the latest data published by Walpole. In terms of international trade, in 2017 exports of British fashion and textiles were worth £10.7 billion, up more than 30% since 2012, and apparel exports alone have risen by 41% since 2012. However, access and representation to and within the fashion industry are lagging behind other industry areas, and as well as hindering people’s ability to develop professionally and fulfil their potential, the consensus between academics and the Government is that a lack of access and inclusion in fashion limits the growth of the industry by restricting the talent pool.
This paper will be the first of its kind for the British fashion industry, with a focus on BAME and Equality Act, disability and religious and LGTBQ+ identity. Fashion Roundtable’s ‘Representation & Inclusion in the Fashion Industry’ paper for the All-Party Parliamentary Group For Textiles and Fashion, will focus on the aspect of artistic creation, including not limited to fashion and textile design, styling, public relations, advertising, fashion publications, modelling and retail.
Government data shows that 8.7% of people employed in the design and designer fashion sub-sector of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport classify as Equality Act Disabled compared to 12.4% of the UK workforce. Despite BAME involvement in the industry being higher than the UK average, the UK has a BAME population of 14% and design, and designer fashion has a 10.6% BAME employment. Further, the disability pays gap averages at £2,730 a year, a significant difference considering that on average, disabled people face costs of £583 a month related extra to their impairment or condition, even after receiving welfare payments designed to help meet these costs according to a study by the Extra Costs Commission.
In the weeks before the launch of the policy paper, Fashion Roundtable’s Policy Researcher Davina Appiagyei will be hosting The Black In Fashion Series of podcasts and webinars, with conversations across both platforms to educate and inform, centring on people within the industry and the realities of their lived experiences.
CEO & Founder of Fashion Roundtable, Tamara Cincik said: “Fashion, like politics, and indeed the FTSE 250 needs to recognise that inclusion and representation have to be core to systemic change. If businesses and politics are to represent the people they serve, then we need to see a radical transformation to create a sector which is inclusive and representative of all of us. For businesses to connect with our consumers those in charge should recognise the need for change in order to be effective and valued in these growing and important markets.”
Policy Researcher Davina Appiagyei said: “Working on the representation and inclusion project in such a definitive and tactile way has been an eye-opening and, at times, difficult experience - but a necessary one. We are all pushing to be the change we want to see, and working in an environment which fosters this culture of inclusion intrinsically is the right place to start.”
Fashion Director, Karen Binns said: “Being a part of the Fashion Roundtable for the past 3 years, starting as we have with the diversity and inclusion conversations from day 1, it’s been a long struggle. Hopefully, after this year, we will finally see results.”
If you or the company you represent would like to talk more on this topic, please contact admin@fashionroundtable.co.uk.
ENDS.
Notes to Editors: Fashion Roundtable Organisation Ltd is our NFP which covers our All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) and policy work. Fashion Roundtable is the leading think tank for the fashion industry, improving people’s lives by influencing policy and outcomes. We collaborate with Government and Parliament, through our APPGs, and across the public, private and third sectors to develop our policy ideas and strategies.
We work across the fashion and textiles industry, technology, innovation, education, skills and sustainability policy. Fashion Roundtable is the Secretariat for the two APPGs which work with the fashion industry, allowing us a pivotal and powerful voice in the intersection between stakeholders and policy. The expertise, authority and credibility of our research and recommendations are key to who we are. Our research is independent and evidence-based and we share our ideas with stakeholders and parliamentarians from all sides of the political spectrum.