Press Release: The Government Asks Fashion To Use Its "Star Power" To Renegotiate the Brexit Deal
Alice Temperley, Designer: “For the government to come back with this, they are hiding, they are cowards. The government likes to entertain us during fashion week when we are all invited to 10 Downing Street to meet the prime minister. But now the government isn’t here to help, there is no voice, there is no guidance and there is no clarity on the situation. No one is talking about the fashion industry.”
23rd February 2021
As London Fashion Week closes today, as you are no doubt aware, the fashion industry united in signing our open letter to the Government urgently requesting a ministerial meeting. The letter, signed by over 455 industry leaders including Dame Twiggy Lawson DBE, Models 1, John Smedley, Liberty, Nick Knight OBE, Sarah Mower MBE, Roksanda Ilincic, Walpole, ASBCI, AIR, Patrick Grant, Jefferson Hack and Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE, expressed our concern that fashion was facing 'decimation' as a result of punitive Brexit regulations, while offering solutions to support business survival in a challenging market.
On behalf of the Government, Rt Hon Oliver Dowden MP (Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport) and Paul Scully MP (Minister for Small Business, Consumers & Labour Markets) have now responded, asking us to use our “star power” to negotiate with the EU, rather than committing to our request for a parliamentary roundtable with stakeholders. Our request for a meeting to find solutions to the issues, which are impacting on our industry already, has not yet been granted. We have replied by reiterating the importance of holding a roundtable meeting with the Government, as a matter of urgency.
We include their full letter in this link here and our response here.
Fashion Roundtable’s Open Letter and #dontmakefashionhistory campaign represents the almost 900,000 creatives and business owners; the UK fashion industry has over 59,000 SMEs, plus many more thousands of freelancers. These small to medium enterprises and growing freelancer numbers are the backbone of the thriving economy across the UK. But without the right support they are the most vulnerable, as they do not have the safety net of wide margins to buffer against negative financial impacts.
The fashion industry is the largest of the creative industries, making more than the automobile, film, music and pharmaceutical industries combined, contributing £35bn to UK GDP and employs almost 1 million people, which was growing 11% year on year, at 4 times the growth of other sectors. We note the Government’s £20m commitment to help the UK’s 6m SMEs with up to £2000 to support businesses; but this is not in line with the £23m to support the fishing industries 12,000 workforce (the same number of people as Debenhams employed for reference) with their EU exports. We are concerned by a clear prioritisation of one industry above another for reasons other than economic factors. The UK fashion industry is largely composed of freelancers and SMEs. These creative innovators could be at the forefront of a post Brexit, post pandemic UK; but without Government reaction and support now, they simply won’t survive to help the UK build back better.
Alice Temperley, Designer: “For the government to come back with this, they are hiding, they are cowards. The government likes to entertain us during fashion week when we are all invited to 10 Downing Street to meet the prime minister. But now the government isn’t here to help, there is no voice, there is no guidance and there is no clarity on the situation. No one is talking about the fashion industry.”
Katharine Hamnett CBE: “The government keeps fobbing us off. It is a catastrophe for Made In Britain and the British fashion industry. Made in Britain has a supreme market quality in Japan and across Asia while the Government renegotiates the terms of the Brexit deal with the EU, our largest trading partner. We have an amazing opportunity to build on that and the Government is not working with us to understand that, it is destroying it.”
Tamara Cincik, CEO Fashion Roundtable: “My ‘star power’ from the lockdown sofa, is somewhat limited compared to that of our elected government. If the Government would like to hire me as a fashion czar: a role which Biden is looking at for the US Government, I am all for it and would happily engage at that level, as it is clear that fashion needs an approach which maps across all of the Whitehall briefs as fashion sits across business, creative and innovation, with a clear sustainable agenda to mitigate against the climate crisis. However until then, surely it is best to work with us, so we can map out our solutions to support the Government and our stakeholders in this challenging time.”
Note to Editors
Background
Fashion Roundtable’s Open Letter, signed by over 455 signatories, was presented to the Government on Tuesday 2nd February. A follow-up letter was sent Tuesday 9th February and again on Tuesday 16th February. We received a reply from Oliver Dowden MP and Paul Scully MP on Thursday 18th February and we replied on Friday 19th February. All of our letters request that we can organise an urgent roundtable meeting with the relevant Ministers for the fashion industry in the coming days, to work together and create solutions which will help save our industry.
The Open Letter has received cross-party parliamentary support, with signatories including Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey, John McNally MP, Martyn Docherty-Hughes MP, Lord Cashman CBE, Lord Foster of Bath, Earl of Clancarty, Baroness Bonham-Carter and Lord Taylor of Warwick. The letter has also gained the support of industry leaders across manufacturing, retail, modelling, creative business, education, brands and journalism.
Signatories include Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE (Vivienne Westwood), Jenny Holloway (Fashion Enter), Paul Barnes (Association of International Retail), Kate Hills (Make It British), Jane Shepherdson CBE (MyWardrobe HQ), Caroline Issa (Tank), John Horner (Models 1), Carole White (Premier), Nick Knight OBE (SHOWstudio), Zowie Broach (RCA), ASBCI, Patrick Grant (E.Tautz and BBC’s Sewing Bee), Camilla Lowther OBE (CLM), Bethany Williams, Phoebe English, Professor Dilys Williams (Centre of Sustainable Fashion UAL), Helen Brocklebank (Walpole), Fashion Revolution, Laura Bailey (Model and British Vogue), Dame Twiggy Lawson DBE (model), Katharine Hamnett CBE (Katharine Hamnett), Sarah Mower MBE (Vogue Runway and British Fashion Council), Julian Vogel (Modus BPCM), Ruth Chapman OBE (Matchesfashion), Isabel Ettedgui (Connolly), Yasmin Le Bon (Model), Roksanda Ilincic (Roksanda), Juergen Teller (Photographer), Jess Mcguire-Dudley (John Smedley), Sarah Coonan (Liberty), Justin Thornton (Preen), Andrea Thompson (Marie Claire), Jane Bruton (Telegraph) and Jefferson Hack (Dazed Media Group).
The Open Letter can be found here: https://www.fashionroundtable.co.uk/openletter
About Fashion Roundtable
Fashion Roundtable is the only fashion organisation that sits between the fashion industry and policy leaders: Front Row to Front Bench
We are secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Textiles and Fashion chaired by Dr Lisa Cameron MP, with members including Dame Eleanor Laing, Lord Taylor of Warwick, John McNally MP and Baron Vaizey of Didcot.
Fashion Roundtable are also the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion, co-chaired by Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey and Catherine West MP.
Tamara Cincik, Founder & CEO of Fashion Roundtable has over 20 years’ experience in the fashion industry and has also worked in parliament. Since launching Fashion Roundtable, Tamara has spoken publicly on fashion and politics with a range of high-profile business press including SKY TV, BBC, CGTN, Telegraph, Financial Times, Times, Guardian, New York Times, Liberation, Stern, Vogue Business and Business of Fashion.
For more information please contact:
Press Release: The Fashion Industry calls on the Government to meet urgently and discuss solutions to help save our industry.
Helen Brocklebank, CEO, Walpole: “Prior to the pandemic, the British luxury sector was in rude health with a value of £48bn to the UK economy and strong annual growth of nearly 10%. Very much a British success story, the sector supported more than 160,000 jobs throughout the UK. However, international visitors to the UK are a crucial revenue driver, and the last 11 months has put severe pressure on their businesses. On top of the pandemic, the eleventh hour Brexit deal has compounded the sector's problems, making chances of swift recovery for British luxury recede compared to their European counterparts. With 42% of all British luxury export sales coming from the EU, the costs and administrative burdens of trading in continental Europe mean many of our members, not least the SME's, have concluded they simply can’t afford to continue selling to those countries.
Monday 1st February 2021
Fashion industry fears for future over consequences of Brexit trade deal
The Fashion Industry calls on the Government to meet urgently and discuss solutions to help save our industry.
The fashion industry contributes £35bn to UK GDP and employs almost 1 million people, but is at real risk of decimation by the Brexit trade deal and current Government policy.
The UK fashion industry is facing several critical issues, which without urgent attention these issues will jeopardise the immediate and long term future of the sector.
Ours is a thriving industry, based on global leadership, complex supply chains and above all a deeply interconnected relationship with our overseas colleagues. To survive post-Brexit and safeguard our future, we need to ensure we can trade with overseas businesses and are also supported to grow the internal market.
Following an industry-wide meeting held on Wednesday 20th January 2021, brought together by Fashion Roundtable, the industry has highlighted the key issues, impacts and unforeseen consequences of Brexit in an Open Letter to the Government, with a call to action.
We are asking the Government to meet so we can create solutions which will help save our industry.
This letter, signed by 451 signatories, will be presented to the Government tomorrow morning, asking that we can sit at an urgent roundtable meeting with the relevant Ministers for the fashion industry in the coming weeks, to work together and create solutions which will help save our industry.
The Open Letter has received cross-party parliamentary support, with signatories including Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey, John McNally MP, Martyn Docherty-Hughes MP, Lord Cashman CBE, Lord Foster of Bath, Earl of Clancarty, Baroness Bonham-Carter and Lord Taylor of Warwick.
The letter has also gained the support of industry leaders across manufacturing, retail, modelling, creative business, education, brands and journalism. Signatories include Jenny Holloway (Fashion Enter), Paul Barnes (Association of International Retail), Kate Hills (Make It British), Jane Shepherdson CBE (MyWardrobe HQ), Caroline Issa (Tank), John Horner (Models 1), Carole White (Premier), Nick Knight OBE (SHOWstudio), Zowie Broach (RCA), Camilla Lowther OBE (CLM), Bethany Williams, Phoebe English,
Professor Dilys Williams (Centre of Sustainable Fashion UAL), Helen Brocklebank (Walpole), Fashion Revolution, Laura Bailey (Model and British Vogue), Dame Twiggy Lawson DBE, Katharine Hamnett CBE, Sarah Mower MBE (Vogue Runway and British Fashion Council), Ruth Chapman OBE (Matchesfashion), Isabel Ettedgui (Connolly), Yasmin Le Bon (Model), Roksanda Ilincic (Roksanda), Juergen Teller (Photographer), Jess Mcguire-Dudley (John Smedley), Sarah Coonan (Liberty), Justin Thornton (Preen), Andrea Thompson (Marie Claire), Jane Bruton (Telegraph) and Jefferson Hack (Dazed Media Group).
Jefferson Hack, Dazed Media Group: “Everyone who cares about the future of Britain economically or the future wellbeing of our youth needs to understand what's at stake if our fashion and textiles industry is trashed because politicians won't look at the paperwork and get ink on their fingers. How can they stand by and watch something built over generations collapse when they have the power to make a difference? Now is the time to act to save British Fashion, culture and livelihoods."
Isabel Ettedgui, Connolly: “Connolly’s home is off Savile Row, but our horizon has always been international, and especially European. Our leather was on the first Rolls Royce and is now on the latest Ferrari. We sell Scottish cashmere but we manufacture our leather goods in a small town in Spain where all the top luxury brands manufacture - because we cannot find the skills to make the goods anymore in the United Kingdom, although the leather is sourced, where possible in this country. It is this dialogue between our island and our neighbours abroad that has shaped who we are. The sadness, the lack of goodwill and the red tape we are now experiencing as a Brexit trading outpost, the financial ramifications of creating barriers with our major trading partner and also the loss of their skills; will be devastating and the result could be the possible closure of a 185-year-old company that holds the Royal Warrant.”
Katharine Hamnett CBE: “We need a radical overhaul of customs arrangements including VAT on all goods shipped into the EU by the end of February, or British brands will die.”
Michelle Noel, MNN Agency: "The fashion industry is having its creative bones fractured by the implementation of Brexit. The emotional and financial impact has been immediate & damaging, to my consultancy practice and to my network of UK & EU clients. Brexit has eroded any slither of confidence in UK governance and highlighted the disdain & insufficient support for thousands of fashion businesses”.
Helen Brocklebank, CEO, Walpole: “Prior to the pandemic, the British luxury sector was in rude health with a value of £48bn to the UK economy and strong annual growth of nearly 10%. Very much a British success story, the sector supported more than 160,000 jobs throughout the UK. However, international visitors to the UK are a crucial revenue driver, and the last 11 months has put severe pressure on their businesses. On top of the pandemic, the eleventh hour Brexit deal has compounded the sector's problems, making chances of swift recovery for British luxury recede compared to their European counterparts. With 42% of all British luxury export sales coming from the EU, the costs and administrative burdens of trading in continental Europe mean many of our members, not least the SME's, have concluded they simply can’t afford to continue selling to those countries.
Before the pandemic, the UK/EU deal would have created exceptional difficulties for Walpole members. On top of the pandemic, its impact puts an unconscionable pressure on businesses who should be given every priority to be a calling card for Global Britain. Our luxury brands sell Britain to the world, exemplifying British craftsmanship, innovation and heritage, and their continued success is imperative if Britain is to maintain its reputation in the global marketplace. This is really not the time to inflict additional damage on British luxury. Our businesses are resilient, and they will work to navigate the challenges, however, now is the time for the Government to step up to the mark and support the sector with a set of very tailored measures if we are to bounce back swiftly.”
Yasmin Le Bon, Model: "It is crucial not only for people in our business but crucial for the welfare of the UK economy that all people in the creative and fashion industries can travel freely within the EU. I have been working continually in this industry for the past 37 years, it works in a very particular way, with jobs being confirmed literally at the last minute. I may get a call, make a decision and be at the airport within 2 hours ready to fly to Madrid, Milan or Miami! The wealth of these creative industries is in our ability to move and change quickly. This is our future, we can not be stuck back in the dark ages or we will be left behind. Up until now, we have been at the forefront. These are crucial negotiations, the fashion business is huge, and every piece of the jigsaw supports each other, we rarely speak up for ourselves for fear of seeming uncool, but this is about more, it’s about hundreds of thousands of jobs that may potentially be lost. You may think that fashion is all about frou-frou skirts and polka dot ties, but it is about so much more. From the designers not just of fashion and accessories, but all the machining for all the hardware, the craftsmanship of the manufacturers, the creativity and artistry of the marketing and advertising tribes, all the wily, resilient retailers, who have been hit so hard by this pandemic. For once we need to be listened to and for the Government to work with us before it is too late."
Tamara Cincik, CEO Fashion Roundtable: “In the fashion industry, everyone wants to "make fashion history": it is a deeply competitive, hardworking and successful sector, generating over £35bn and almost 1m jobs in the UK. Pre-pandemic it was growing 11% year on year. But there is a real risk of it being utterly decimated from the gaps in the Brexit trade deal and UK Government policy, which across each area of the sector: manufacturing, retail, creative, education, is severely impacting on all levels of the business from SMEs to multinationals and in the coming months will destroy the fashion industry in the UK, removing any hope for us to build back better. From the decision to end the VAT Retail Export Scheme, to the decision to not add garment workers to the Shortage Occupation List for visas, while not lining up the necessary T-Levels to train UK domicile garment workers until September 2023, or the extra costs and delays of Brexit red tape to our largest market, the EU and the very real risk of a brain drain, as the UK becomes increasingly unsustainable for our world-leading fashion talent to stay here.
Everywhere I look across our complex, innovative and highly successful UK fashion industry, I see perfect storms and tsunamis unless we act. Fashion Roundtable are about solutions: we have them and urge the Government to engage, listen and act upon them now.
You cannot attract the brightest and the best from overseas, if the talent we already have in the UK cannot stay here for the good of their livelihoods and careers, or you do not shore up the workforce to support a more sustainable, transparent manufacturing sector.
We urge the Government to meet with us, listen to our concerns and policy solutions, so we can ensure the long term viability of the UK fashion industry, which we have all worked so hard to make the success story it is. We want the fashion industry to continue to thrive as a key contributor to GDP and the jobs market in years to come.
We urge the Government to hear us and act: don't make fashion history.”
Note to Editors
Background
The deal done with the EU has a gaping hole where promised free movement for goods and services for all creatives, including the fashion and textiles sector, should be. The fashion and textiles industry is the largest component of the previously thriving UK creative industries, growing 11% annually, bringing vital jobs and innovation to the UK. We contribute more to UK GDP than fishing, music, film, pharma and motor industries combined. Yet we have been disregarded in this deal and our concerns overlooked in current policy decisions. This has significantly impacted our opportunity to build back better and grow our onshoring manufacturing, digital innovation and sustainable design and technology in the UK, where we now, more than ever, have the real chance to show global leadership.
The full letter can be found here https://www.fashionroundtable.co.uk/openletter
About Fashion Roundtable
Fashion Roundtable is the only fashion think tank that sits between the fashion industry and policy leaders; Front Row to Front Bench
We are secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Textiles and Fashion chaired by Dr Lisa Cameron MP, with members including Dame Eleanor Laing, Lord Taylor of Warwick, John McNally MP and Baron Vaizey of Didcot.
Fashion Roundtable are also the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion, co-chaired by Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey and Catherine West MP.
Tamara Cincik, Founder & CEO Fashion Roundtable has over 20 years’ experience in the fashion industry and has also worked in parliament for Sharon Hodgson MP. Since launching Fashion Roundtable, Tamara has spoken publicly on fashion and politics with a range of high-profile business press including SKY TV, BBC, Telegraph, Vogue Business and Business of Fashion.
For more information please contact:
Press Release 21/03/2019: From catwalks to Customs Union, Fashion Roundtable represent the Brexit concerns of the fashion industry
"When we launched Fashion Roundtable the majority of politicians I spoke to thought the industry was just Kate Moss & catwalk shows and were more concerned about fisheries than fashion” Cincik says.“However after contacting each of the 650 MPs highlighting the reality of the UK Fashion Industry’s valuable contribution - generating over 890,000 jobs, nationwide and thousands of jobs and revenue to each of their constituencies - we're now seeing politicians from across the parties, uniting to ensure that our industry maintains its status as a global soft power leader for the economy.”
As the UK government seeks a delay to Article 50, Speaker John Bercow has refused repeated voting versions of Theresa May’s meaningful vote and the EU has declared it will only allow the extension if parliament ratifies May's deal, Tamara Cincik CEO and Founder of Fashion Roundtable reveals why fashion has to be valued if Brand Britain is to survive Brexit.
"When we launched Fashion Roundtable the majority of politicians I spoke to thought the industry was just Kate Moss & catwalk shows and were more concerned about fisheries than fashion” Cincik says.“However after contacting each of the 650 MPs highlighting the reality of the UK Fashion Industry’s valuable contribution - generating over 890,000 jobs, nationwide and thousands of jobs and revenue to each of their constituencies - we're now seeing politicians from across the parties, uniting to ensure that our industry maintains its status as a global soft power leader for the economy.”
Fashion Roundtable were the only organisation from inside the industry who surveyed our sector to publish a Brexit Paper on the first anniversary of the triggering of Article 50 (almost one year ago). With the clock ticking down, we asked key voices of the industry to share their concerns about the delays, the political landscape and consequences for their businesses.
Mia Wallenius, Director, Klaus Haapaniemi, a lifestyle, interiors and fashion company: “The main reason we are leaving the UK is the uncertainty of what happens after the Brexit. We started 9 years ago in London, where we have a wonderful loyal customer base and press following in UK, that has helped us to grow also globally. But the majority of our customers are in the EU and they just wouldn’t order our products if they had to pay customs. Our European wholesalers have made it clear too, that our products would be too expensive for them including customs tariffs. The past two years have already been difficult with sterling going down and UK consumers being more cautious. Instead of waiting to see how it will all turn out and affect us, we found it easier and less stressful to move all of our business to EU. At the moment we print all our fabrics in UK and manufacture fashion and home products in Estonia, we have already looked for alternative printing factories in EU to avoid paying customs for our materials being shipped to the factory where the products are made. Brexit really has made it impossible for us to stay.”
For a flourishing independent shop and retail business to decide to leave the UK their shop in London’s iconic Shoreditch, their UK manufacturers and of course their domicile taxation, is worrying as fashion faces the on-going political confusions head on.
Jenny Holloway CEO and Founder of Fashion Enter, a manufacturing hub in North London, explains what she would like to see for the public and the industry and why her company in spite of Brexit uncertainties, has decided to stay and indeed expand into exportation options to the EU.
“People have lost track of what Brexit now means and now, no-one is going to get what they were promised/wanted at the time of the referendum. MPs are divided and we should put it back to the people; presumably this means having another referendum, in order to reconnect the people to the outcome of Brexit as it is now and solve the deadlock with MPs. Fashion Enter have to forge our own way forward and absorb calculated risks. We are investing six figure sums into new plant and machinery thanks to the Good Growth Fund and our Tailoring Academy is now underway. This is to train up a new generation of stitchers and skilled technicians as Brexit has seen the end of skilled labour from East European. We have launched our own range with the sole aim of export - we have never exported before, but we now have our first account in Spain.”
In light of the People’s Vote March on Saturday and in alignment with 96% of the fashion industry who voted Remain in the EU referendum and wish to have their say, designer Katharine Hamnett CBE said:
“We have to have a second referendum, with expats allowed to vote just to check that Brexit is still what the majority of British citizens still want. More democracy is not undemocratic. It is even undemocratic to suggest that it is. Britain should field candidates for the European Elections in May, just in case the Referendum result is Remain. The government should ask the EU for an extension of Article 50 for 6 months to facilitate this, as this is how long it takes to get a referendum organised and it should also be asking for an optional second 6 months to be able to properly prepare in case the referendum result is Leave. If the EU refuses, Britain should repeal Article 50, hold the referendum, and re-instate Article 50 for 6 months after the referendum if the country votes Leave.”
Nearly two years since Article 50 was triggered, one year since we published our Fashion and Brexit Paper and with just over a week until the UK is due to leave the EU, Fashion Roundtable call on all sides to finally come together to find a solution which is viable for business, prevents a talent exodus and listens to our evidence on implications for optimum outcomes.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Fashion Roundtable LTD is the only fashion-focused consultancy providing industry leading events, public affairs and policy.
Fashion Roundtable’s CEO & Founder, Tamara Cincik, has over 20 years’ experience in the industry and since the launch the independent think tank, has spoken publicly on Fashion & Politics with a range of high profile business press including SKY TV, Forbes, Mail on Sunday, Vogue Business and Business Of Fashion.
Fashion Roundtable’s community includes the most influential Fashion Activists and politicians such as Katharine Hamnett CBE, Nick Knight OBE, Sarah Mower MBE, designers including Ashish, Richard Malone and Bethany Williams winner of this year’s Queen Elizabeth II Award For Design, as well as working as the secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Textiles and Fashion members including Dr Lisa Cameron MP, Dame Eleanor Laing, John McNally MP, Rushanara Ali MP, Catherine West MP and Andrea Jenkyns MP.
According to Oxford Economics, the UK fashion industry contributes over £32.3bn to UK GDP; whereas fishing makes £1.4GVA for the UK economy (East London alone makes the same amount just from the fashion industry). With clear policy leads, the business will grow: fashion business grew by 11% and the UK is a worldwide leader in sustainable SMEs fashion enterprises.
The Fashion Roundtable Brexit Paper confirms that 94% of the industry- including reps from Oliver Bonas, Wallpaper, Vogue and Graduate Fashion Week - feel fashion is grossly underrepresented in Parliament.
3 key takeaways from Fashion Roundtable’s Brexit Paper are:
96% would vote Remain if there was a second referendum tomorrow.
56% would change their voting behaviour if a fashion policy agenda was clearly on offer in an election.
94% feel fashion is under-represented in UK politics and would like the UK Government to work on policy affecting the sector with Fashion Roundtable.
Fashion Roundtable’s top 3 key concerns are:
Maintain the Single Market
Continue our Involvement in EU Cultural Educational and Business Programme
Provide Legal Guarantees for EU Nationals
Our top 3 key asks are:
No additional costs associated with the movement of people, or goods, between the UK and European countries.
No restriction on economic migration.
No hard border for UK nationals moving within Schengen.
For more information on our Brexit policy and consultancy work, email admin@fashionroundtable.co.uk
FASHION ROUNDTABLE is offering anyone interested in Fashion & Politics the opportunity to come and be part of the debate and take part in their workshop led by their expert team across fashion, politics and policy on the 30th March, at the Ace Hotel Shoreditch E1 6JQ from 1 – 4.30pm.
Link to tickets here.
Social media handles:
Tamara Cincik@tamaracincik (Instagram & Twitter)
LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/fashion-roundtable
Instagram @fashionroundtable
Twitter @FashionRoundTab
Facebook @FashionRoundtableLondon
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9jXxGpIh3q3ngyGuZqTU6Q
PRESS RELEASE: Fashion Roundtable To Host a Roundtable at Push PR 13/12 3.30pm -5.30pm. It's Time To Talk The Fashion Industry and Brexit
For an industry, which conservative estimates say voted 95% Remain, the need for dialogue around Brexit and the potential impacts to the fashion sector are clear.
A sector based on global trade and talent, with creative exchange and international travel at the heart of it's business model: how does it survive and indeed thrive through the upcoming UK and EU trade deals, as they begin in earnest next month in Brussels?
For an industry, which conservative estimates say voted 95% Remain, the need for dialogue around Brexit and the potential impacts to the fashion sector are clear.
A sector based on global trade and talent, with creative exchange and international travel at the heart of it's business model: how does it survive and indeed thrive through the upcoming UK and EU trade deals, as they begin in earnest next month in Brussels?
The UK fashion industry is founded on Heritage brands: from Charles Worth, to Barbour, launching digital global leaders: from Net-a-porter to Asos and world class designers and innovators: from Phoebe Philo, to Phoebe English.
How do we maintain that international reputation and continue to excel once the UK leaves the EU? Where are our opportunities for growth and on-going recognition?
What more can we do to achieve UK fashion excellence across bricks and mortar retail, online platforms, regionally and into which global markets?
These challenges and questions will be a part of the conversation of the first Fashion Roundtable tomorrow, since our recent launch.
Confirmed speakers are:
Nick Vinson writer, editor and creative consultant and in whose monthly Wallpaper*magazine column has written on Brexit and will share his concerns for the fashion industry and design sector: from SME, to global businesses.
Jack Karet from DCMS will present on where DCMS have been working hard on Brexit strategy.
Derin Adebiyi from ISM will present on #freemovecreate which Fashion Roundtable have joined and are supporting and will explain what this is about to support the creative sector and fashion industry though Brexit visa policy lobbying.
Jack Tindale from Policy Connect will present on the work of the Design and Innovation APPG and how that can link in with fashion industry strategy for Brexit and business.
Kate Wicklow Senior Policy Advisor for Guildford HE will present on the unintended consequences of the Ebacc in our education exam system and make the case for the need for STEAM not STEM education, for our post Brexit workforce and fashion talents
Confirmed Attendees Include:
Nick Vinson, Sarah Mower MBE, Katharine Hamnett CBE, The Design Council, The Right Project, Richard Malone, Karen Binns, Bev Malik, Valery Demure, LCF, BEIS, Black Neon Digital,
Tamara Cincik: Founder and CEO of Fashion Roundtable says: " I am excited to join the dots between policy makers and fashion industry visionaries, I have made in my work across both the political and fashion sectors. This first roundtable, as well as our next London one on 17/01/18, will offer us a key opportunity to make insightful recommendations to Government, while the UK enters the key trade deals next month, which we hope will benefit the fashion industry for sustained and long-term growth."
Ends.
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