British Fashion | How can we make London exciting again?
The UK capital’s fashion scene seems to be in need of redefining.
This article was originally written by Demi Karanikolaou in Greek for Harper’s Bazaar Greece. You can find it here.
There are many ways to describe London, but one can safely say that the UK capital is an overall great city and a global hub that some of the world’s most interesting people and businesses call home. Indeed, London has birthed and nurtured some of the world’s most well known artists, politicians, scientists and of course, royals. Fashion specifically, has been greatly influenced by the incredible schools, brands and talented creatives living here and which have established London as one of the core capitals of the industry. However, in the midst of several socio-political changes, economic uncertainty and an ever changing world, the UK capital’s fashion scene seems to be in need of a rebranding in order to return to its former glory.
The Capitals of Fashion
When looking at the “fashion map” - which is what fashionistas call the global cities of influence within the fashion industry - one can quickly identify that New York, London, Milan and Paris reign as the dominant. These preserve the traditions of heritage maisons and craftsmanship, as well as birth new ideas and trends. Despite some similarities between them, the core four seem to have developed their own unique value propositions that differentiate them from each other: New York is focused on American design, streetstyle, sportswear and a cool girl aesthetic. London is known for innovative design and historic fashion schools. Milan has the pulse of Italian craftsmanship, tailoring and sexy but chic ensembles from famous mega brands. Lastly, Paris acts as the “Mecca '' of global fashion, and the “de facto” home of haute couture, heritage, luxury, art and beauty. Some secondary fashion capitals have also started to emerge - most notably Copenhagen, which celebrates mid range brands and the world renowned “Scandi-chic” aesthetic . However, the four core capitals remain the most important. So why is it that in the last few years, some top journalists, celebrities and key opinion leaders are altogether scrapping London Fashion Week from their fashion calendar?
London’s Heritage
Between others, the British capital has been established as a place that propels new ideas in the creative world. Indeed, the innovative designs, new materials and patterns that usually come out of the legendary local fashion schools have been a magnet for fashion enthusiasts worldwide. London’s street style has only enhanced that enthusiasm, by offering a unique blend of several diverse styles - from glamorous Mayfair socialites to grungy Shoreditch fashionistas - that somehow blend together in an elegant collage. With a bustling creative industry, unique stores and markets of all kinds and price points - including iconic premium department stores with distinct character and diverse offerings- the UK capital has been setting trends instead of adopting them. Simply put, London has been unapologetic and exciting, confident in its own path - and that was sexy.
Of course, the UK capital’s prominence in the fashion sphere is nothing new: from contemporary royal court fashion, to the Industrial revolution’s boom in textile innovation, there was always a sense that London dictated newness.The West of the city, became legendary for high-end tailoring, polished clothing, mayfair aristocracy and chic mods. In the East, rockers, punks and more alternative figures, dictated coolness. The world took notice quickly, which became more evident than ever in the swinging sixties, when fun and daring BIBA, Mary Quant and Ossie Clarke designs, transformed London into the global “Swinging City”. Established in 1984, London Fashion Week started showcasing the capital’s love for diversity of design, innovation, freedom and self-expression. Fashion allowed everyone to find their voice and express it publically.
No other city in the world fostered creativity so openly and passionately. This resulted in London becoming a hub for creative studies, most notably through its many important fashion schools and universities. Despite luxurious fashion having been associated with the upper echelons of society for millenia, London allowed everyone, including young aspiring designers from the working class and normal people, for example a teacher, to hustle, learn and potentially thrive. Often seen as the young, cool sister to the stuffy, couture world of Paris, London fostered some of the world's most exciting fashion talents. Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, Stella McCartney, Kim Jones and Alexander McQueen between them - the latter having survived his early years with UK welfare checks and support from the tight knit creative scene of London. Yet, despite this long heritage of influence, 2024 finds London appearing less exciting than previous years.
Current State
A feeling of change in the scene of London was obvious post Pandemic and Brexit. Specifically after the latter, VAT costs, tariffs and paperwork for imports and exports became a nightmare for many businesses and customers, who inevitably focused on their native markets, being unsure about cost increases and shipping delays. This effectively left the UK by itself: according to a report by UAL and the University of Leeds, “The UK’s departure from the EU was the biggest change in the global trading environment in decades. With the EU accounting for 75% of the UK’s fashion and textile exports and over 30% of the sector's imports”. At the same time a big change occurred to shopping foreign travellers to the UK, who were traditionally eligible for a 20% VAT refund, something the British government put an end to in 2021. Of course the decision has had a significant impact on the volume of sales done in the UK, especially when considering that Paris, the “mecca” of luxury fashion is a mere 2.5 hours away with a train and offers VAT refund alongside more options. Severely criticised by UK institutions such as Burberry, this combined with everything else, contributed to a much slower post Covid UK fashion industry recovery.
With this being a new reality, some of the UK’s brightest fashion businesses inevitably paid the price: Couture label Ralph & Russo closed in 2021, Christopher Kane (although the designer did eventually buy back the brand name and assets) and Julien Macdonald in 2023 and most recently, celebrity favourite “The Vampire’s wife” in May of 2024. Even those who did not close, decided to sell, such as Roksanda Ilinčić. A lot of these brands did state the upheaval in the wholesale market as one of the main reasons towards their demise. Indeed, the environment has not been easy for wholesale luxury retailers either. The London cult boutiques of “Matches Fashion” had a very public liquidation, while Net-a-Porter and Farfetch are also experiencing issues. The latter barely avoiding closure, after being rescued by the Korean Coupang group.
The struggles of UK businesses translated to the fashion shows in London. While it is widely understood that shows are mostly used as marketing tools, they do also increase buzz around the style of a city and build its reputation as a fashion capital. The last few years have seen London losing some of its charm, with famous celebrities, influencers and fashionistas taking the city entirely out of their “fashion month calendar”. Globally known British brands, such as Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Victoria Beckham and Vivienne Westwood choose to showcase their new collections exclusively in Paris, while Milan also hosts presentations by Jimmy Choo and more. Italian men’s fashion weeks in particular (Milan & Pitti Uomo in Florence) specifically, count many British brands as regulars: Paul Smith, David Koma and Dunhill between them. Those who remained focused on the UK market, such as Burberry and Mulberry, do not have it easy either: portraying a new cool-luxe identity, while channelling “Britishness”, is no easy task in 2024.
Lastly, the rising costs of living across the UK have also influenced the new fashion talent. Specifically looking into the lives of young creatives who go from ranking student debt while studying in London’s high tuition fashion schools and paying for overpriced shared apartments, only to hopefully land an unpaid or very low paid internship and entry level job in the industry. That unpleasant situation clearly influences who can truly afford to be a London creative. Spawns of the upper class rarely introduce radical new styles and that is evident in the industry today - specifically for the UK fashion sphere, which relies on innovation.
Despite some troubles, the outlook of London fashion is not all doom and gloom. The UK capital is still - and will likely remain to be - a metropolis like no other: a unique blend of multicultural highly skilled workforce, with a modern focus on sustainability and institutions that can foster it. So how do we go about turning things around?
Looking ahead
As London-based supermodel and artist Tsunaina told us exclusively : "Realistically, London's biggest strengths are innovation, a punk edge and alternative aesthetics as well as nurturing new talent from the ground up." Indeed, In order to propose new ideas, one should look into what at what has been proven to work so far.
The true identity of UK fashion can be found in cool, British, independent, young and even punk designs. That is of course complemented with heritage tailoring, handmade products and established luxury houses endorsed by the Crown. London can focus on the “Rebirth of Cool”, finding once again its true identity instead of copying the strategies and aesthetics of other capitals. London based brands, such as DiPetsa, Dilara Findikoglu, Natasha Zinko, Annie’s Ibiza and Marques'Almeida can nurture that aesthetic, if supported by a clear vision and support by official fashion institutions in the country. Apart from giving designers their official stamp of approval, mentorship and in some cases the space to showcase their collection, prestigious UK institutions can create official partnerships with publications, media and stores, to provide some visibility that is very much needed in order to create the myth around a brand and make it desirable.
The revival of Saville Row’s and expert tailoring as something exciting can also prove powerful. Established British codes, such as the three piece suit, the trench coat, tweed and tartan could be reimagined in more contemporary, cooler shapes and/ or materials, all with the luxurious craftsmanship of British houses and tailors. The rebirth of tailoring could also ride the wave of the popularity of second hand clothing, perhaps with upcycling and reworking items, or with British businesses offering easy and expert alterations. London should hence become a place that is synonymous with smart tailoring, including for both new-tailor made clothing, but also for cool second hand and vintage items. There is a bright future for British fashion manufacturing in specialist ateliers and highly skilled production, fostering quality and innovation over price.
Indeed, London’s reputation as a city for innovation, must be protected and developed by all means. That should include innovation in materials used in fashion, innovation in the technology used in store and online, to offer best in class, out-of-the-box experiences for consumers and London based media. These experiences should inspire, enrich and connect fashion enthusiasts, propelling London as a Mecca of the future of fashion. Smart shops (earlier examples of which were successfully used at Burberry under CEO Angela Ahrendts more than a decade ago), Artificial Intelligence, Augmented and Virtual Reality and Web 3 among others can be implemented to create new ways of shopping, better product research and development, as well as overall better products. For example, London could become the first city where all designers offer a virtual certificate for every physical product. Innovation can also foster better store experiences, creating the fashion store of the future, mimicking how inspiring of a destination Big BIBA was for London tourists in the mid 70s. Given how much revenue a robust fashion industry could contribute to the British government, it would be wise for the state to support any such initiatives. In addition to that, the state could help young talent, by working with fashion schools to secure more accessible tuition fees and student visas, offer more support for young creatives and hopefully create more housing in London and other major centres. This will allow young creatives to live in urban environments, grow their skill set and their professional circle. Lastly, the reintroduction of VAT tax free shopping, would surely aid shopping done by tourists.
There is so much that can be done for this city of endless possibilities. If a cooler, more concise creative direction and aesthetic returns to the city, buzzy British designers become prominent worldwide and new innovative materials and stores change the retail landscape of the capital, in addition to tax free shopping to tourists, London will be set for a major comeback.
