More than 400 leading fashion figures have told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson they fear the U.K.’s multi-billion pound fashion industry is at risk of decimation by the Brexit trade deal.
Signing the Fashion Roundtable’s open letter, which was presented on Tuesday, alarmed employees of the sector accused the government of failing to deliver on promises made before Britain left the European Union.
Models Twiggy and Yasmin Le Bon and designer Katharine Hamnett were among those adding their name to the note.
“We write to you as concerned members of the UK’s fashion and textile industry, an industry which contributes £35bn to UK GDP and employs almost 1m people, but which is at real risk of decimation by the Brexit trade deal and current Government policy,” the letter began. “Ours is a thriving industry, based on global leadership, complex supply chains and above all a deeply interconnected relationship with our overseas colleagues.
“The deal done with the EU has a gaping hole where promised free movement for goods and services for all creatives, including the fashion and textiles sector, should be. The fashion and textiles industry is the largest component of the previously thriving UK creative industries, growing 11% annually, bringing vital jobs and innovation to the UK. We contribute more to UK GDP than fishing, music, film, pharmaceuticals and automobile industries combined. Yet we have been disregarded in this deal and our concerns overlooked in current policy decisions.”
They call for a major review of the conditions currently in place, including a change to new visa and VAT rules.
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