Fashion Hates Brexit

By Michalina Cmoch and Nicole Weber

Pictures by Michalina Cmoch

 

Forty-five per cent of textiles (with £24.5bn in 2016) and 25% of clothing in the UK are imported from the European Union. The EU is also the UK’s biggest market for exporting textiles and apparel with 74% of all UK exports, according to Textile House, a textile training centre.

Debate has centered around how Brexit might change the way people travel, work and their right to stay in the UK or EU. But fashionistas are worried about what will happen in their industry.

‘End the Chaos’, a campaign against Brexit, reported that “90% of British fashion designers voted to remain in the EU.” Katharine Hamnett, a UK based designer who is famous for her unique slogan t-shirts, created an anti-Brexit collection. Thousands of her ‘Cancel Brexit’ and ‘Fashion hates Brexit’ pieces were sold as reported by Evening Standard online.

The most important aspect of the fashion industry is globalization and its international influences. The most well-known fashion houses are based in Europe, and in the case of a no-deal Brexit, it could drastically change the way people shop here in the UK. British fashion designer Paul Smith told the Financial Times: “Without question I am loyal to Europe. I’ve shown my men’s collection in Paris since 1976 and buy fabrics from Italy and elsewhere in Europe. We decided to buy currency before the polls opened, which has put us in a strong position.”

British retailers and designers may also be affected by Brexit. “I didn’t think about how it could affect fashion,” said Cindy Lim, 23, an architecture student. “It can be a big loss to the economy. Like Topshop – it might disappear from Europe.”

Some UK high street brands have already started closing their branches in Europe. Topshop is a case in point:  it’s  shut down four stores in Spain and New Look left markets in Belgium, France and Poland.

Brexit can also influence people employed within the fashion sector. Textile House has published a report claiming that 70% of the UK’s fashion industry workforce comes from Europe. It benefits from the free movement agreement between the EU countries.

Leaving the European Union will bring many changes and affect different sectors in the British economy. It will make it more difficult for the fashion industry to work the way it currently does. The future is not exactly bright – it’s unclear.