The impact of Brexit on UK fashion and textiles industry strongly dependent on international trade.

Due to the United Kingdom's high level of exports, reliance on international talent, and dependence of raw materials from abroad, the UK textiles, apparel, and footwear industry will be one of the hardest hit by the UK leaving the European Union in March 2019, according to the industry highly dependent on international trade.

The British Fashion Council, which organises London Fashion Week, quite understandably
recently came out in support of a second Brexit vote to avoid a no-deal exit.
Photo © Lucia Carpio.

The British designer-cum political activist Katharine Hamnett's slogan T-shirts reflect the sentiment of many in the UK textile and fashion industry.  Words like "CANCEL BREXIT", "FASHION HATES BREXIT" and "SECOND REFERENDUM NOW" say it all.

According to a report by the UK Trade Policy Observatory, some 63 percent of clothing designers and 55 percent of UK-based luxury-goods makers are engaged in exports, and around 10,000 EU citizens are employed in the UK fashion industry.

British quality fabrics sought after in the global marketplace.
Photo © Lucia Carpio at Premiere Vision Paris.

At the Fashion Roundtable, a lobbying body of consultants formed to advise the UK government on matters relating to Brexit respondents, some 80 percent of respondents said that they felt Brexit would be bad for fashion in the UK and European Union. The prospect of Brexit has also started to affect fashion companies in other countries, particularly those being paid in sterling, which has fallen by around 12 percent against the euro and 10 percent against the dollar since the Brexit referendum in 2016.  Consultants at Fashion Roundtable found 96 percent of business leaders in the British industry voted to stayin the EU.

London Fashion Week is big deal for Britain's booming fashion industry, with revenues for women's ready-to-wear rising by 5.5 percent to 30.9 billion pounds in 2018, according to market analyst group Mintel.

However, uncertainty surrounding Brexit, due to take place on 29 March, is causing great concerns to designers and British fashion houses who fear leaving the EU without a deal could be catastrophic for the industry's exports.

"The industry is anxious and worried and uncertainty is never good for the mood of anyone, let alone an industry based on freedom of movement," Tamara Cincik, founder and CEO of consultancy firm Fashion Roundtable, told AFP.

"Retail is already dealing with huge losses to footfall on the high street with the growth of online sales outlets. No deal will mean that we are stuck at borders or goods won't get in."(AFP)