Culture Politick

Ed hosted a fashion round table at the end of August. It was a lively discussion (our favourite kind).  Among the issues we looked at were: the perception of the industry, (it’s the UK’s second largest employer but seems to be rarely taken seriously by politicans and the media), skills and training, UK manufacturing, business development, the realtionship between the high street and high fashion, and how we can support this world leading sector. Our thanks to the Brithsh Fashion Council for putting it together, we are already excited about London Fashion Week in September, and there were many ideas we hope to  take forward , so watch this space for news. Meanwhile, Lisa Armstrong, fashion editor of The Times, attended, and gives us her view:

Did you know that fashion is the second largest employer in the UK? It is if you throw in retail sector workers, carrier bag and hanger manufacturers, dry cleaners and textile designers. So it’s not just about designers saying, ” I’m feeling for chiffon, sweeties, ” or devilish magazine editors swanning about in Prada.

Not that you’d necessarily know this from the way politicians react when they’re asked to comment on fashion related issues, as they occasionally are – the knee-jerk clap trap they spouted during the size zero debate being a particularly unedifying example.

I’m not suggesting that Harriet Harman needs to clarify Labour policy on shoulder pads, or that Michael Gove should set up cross party talks with Miuccia Prada. But the sneering, seemingly deliberately misinformed tone that politicians adopt when they talk about this industry needs to go.

It’s outdated, patronizing to the millions of people in this country who are interested in design or who work in the business and unhelpful.

Fashion is one of UK Inc’s success stories. It may have suffered recently – who hasn’t?  - but the British high street is one of the most vibrant, adaptable economies in the world. British designers are sought after by global luxury brands. British fashion colleges are widely acknowledged to be the best in the world. London Fashion Week is an invaluable flag-waver for Britain’s reputation as a cultural power-house, punching way above its weight. Savile Row is revered throughout the world as a beacon of quality…but not in Westminster it seems, where many politicians are terrified of being seen as frivolous…So it’s ok for Gordon Brown to pretend to care about football or ring up Simon Cowell when Susan Boyle’s not feeling herself. But please don’t expect him to know the names of Britain’s world-influential designers.

I’m running away with myself -but then it’s not often the fashion industry gets the chance to put its case across to ministers. Still, that’s what happened when Ed Vaisey invited (or did we invite ourselves?)  a group of designers (high end and high street), prs, fashion college heads and a fashion journalist (that was me) to meet around a large table in Portcullis House.

What case? Didn’t I just say fashion was a success story? It is, but one that’s constantly under-threat. Clothes manufacturing in the UK has dwindled to a point where it’s almost impossible to get anything made here. That doesn’t matter for the high street giants who can outsource anywhere they want. But it’s a huge headache for the smaller designers, without whom the British high street would be infinitely worse off, as would carrier bag and hanger manufacturers….then there are the colleges like St Martin’s who have to watch while 32 per cent of their lovingly nurtured graduates have to go abroad for jobs, the proposed introduction of a minimum wage for interns which will wipe out scores of smaller designer’s businesses.  Oh and New York fashion week wants to wipe out London Fashion Week (why isn’t that surprising?) which does matter by the way, because LFW’s value to the UK’s design exports is incalculable.

Naturally one of Ed’s first questions was about where he could get fashion advice. Of course it was. Where there’s a politician, a dismissive little joke about fashion is never far behind. But credit to Ed, he made a rapid recovery and seemed to get the point very quickly of what can seem an abstruse and elitist industry. So, to recap the cliffhangers (yes it got heated) : if they get in, will the Tories make any progress on rebuilding the kind of manufacturing that would help fashion in this country? Should they? What about tax relief on those interns? Could international retailers be persuaded to sign a code of conduct that would prevent them ripping off designers and not paying them? Who knows?

Should Mps take in the occasional fashion show? All these and more questions remain utterly un-answered. But at least they’re asking the questions. One thing I can say, no one was feeling for chiffon and I don’t think anyone wore Prada.

Lisa Armstrong is the fashion editor of The Times.