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Politics, pinstripes and soft power at London fashion week


This London fashion week focused on hard numbers rather than soft power, and closed with a businesslike Downing Street reception. The cocktail-hour celebration regularly held at No 10 was downsized this season to a 90-minute afternoon reception at which – unusually for a fashion week event – suits outnumbered party dresses.

The guest list skewed toward boardroom heavyweights. Francois-Henri Pinault, the London-based boss of luxury group Kering, and the CEOs Marco Gobbetti of Burberry and Paolo Riva of Victoria Beckham joined designers Erdem Moralioğlu and Alice Temperley. Samantha Cameron, an ex-resident of Downing Street whose fashion brand Cefinn recently secured £2.5m in investment, also attended, as did the editors of British and American Vogue.

The prime minister may have famously listed a subscription to Vogue as her Desert Island luxury, but Theresa May’s warm feelings toward fashion were not entirely reciprocated by an industry which has little enthusiasm for Brexit.

In the 2016 referendum, 90% of British fashion designers voted to remain in the EU. Concerns about the financial and administrative burden of a more complex customs system, unfavourable exchange rates and barriers to hiring international talent have reinforced initial ideological resistance.

The pinstriped prime minister’s message was a familiar plea to make the best of Brexit. “As we look to build a future outside the EU, let’s work together,” she said, attempting to reassure the room with a reminder of the new exceptional talent visa to ease worries about hiring internationally, and her appreciation that “British fashion is serious business.”

Samantha Cameron (right), British designer Christopher Kane (left) and his sister Tammy Kane arrive in Downing Street



Samantha Cameron (right), British designer Christopher Kane (left) and his sister Tammy Kane arrive in Downing Street. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

Stephanie Phair, the new chair of the British Fashion Council, used the podium to remind May of the “numbers that cannot be ignored” about an industry which employs almost as many people in Britain as the financial sector and is outpacing the economy in growth. “Since the referendum, the British Fashion Council has embraced the message that London is open, and championed the fantastic asset that is fashion to UK PLC.”

Margot James, the creative industries minister, said at the 2018 launch of London fashion week that “fashion is incredibly important to me personally. It is important to the government and I think you will probably know it is important to our prime minister who wears British fashion whenever she can.”

Billed as “a small event focusing on the fashion business and the importance of international trade”, the reception was intended as a congratulatory full stop for London fashion week, before the catwalks open in Milan on Wednesday. But the young designer Richard Quinn, whose closing slot on the schedule made headlines last season when the Queen sat in his front row, used the how-will-he-follow-that spotlight to focus attention on the crisis in funding for arts education.

GCSE and A-level art students from the London state schools Quinn attended, along with their teachers, were guests of honour at the show. A note from Quinn outlining how to write to an MP protesting against cuts was given to all attendees.



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