The post-election dust may have settled, but a sand-storm of debates about the United Kingdom’s European Union membership are on the rise. Prime Minister David Cameron announced there will be an in-out referendum by the end of 2017. The impending referendum leaves Britain, and the British fashion industry particularly, in a precarious position— we find out why.
The history books show how Britain has always been reluctant in joining forces with European nations. This reluctancy is most exemplified in the 1950s with the formation of a single coal and steel market, which consisted of Germany, France, Italy and the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg). It was not until the 1970s, Britain joined the single market after realising the potential monetary gains to be had. Over 40 years ago, at the time of Britain’s entry into the European Union, the continent’s economy was flourishing. The Union membership was seen as an asset. However since then, the Eurozone crisis and changed attitude towards the ‘freedom of movement’ policy has left Britons feeling exploited and questioning if the pros really out-weight the cons.
The European Union and ‘freedom of movement’ policy— which UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party) branded as the reason for all of the nation’s woes in the run-up to the election—facilitates the ERAMUS programme which supports student exchange around Europe. The programme celebrated it’s 3 millionth student in 2013 and since 2007 has supported over 210,000 work placements and internships. This programme, and the policy in general, has given British fashion talent the freedom to develop their skills in important fashion capitals across the continent, like Paris and Milan.
“Here I am, a Swedish designer working for one of Britain’s most iconic brands. And almost everyone I know in London has a similar story; we see the world as our playing field and we’ve built our lives moving and working between various countries.” Lina Lundén, a jersey-wear designer at British brand Jigsaw.
Lundén’s story is echoed not only across Britain from European nationals, but from British nationals in Europe. This symbiotic exchange of talent helps the fashion industry, in particular but not exclusively, innovate.
But, it is not solely through the symbiotic exchange of talent to and from Europe that has aided the industry’s growth. Without the Britain’s presence in the EU, the existence of initiatives like London Showrooms Paris would have been difficult to establish. London Showrooms is partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), who contributed £743,000 to ‘promote London’s creative fashion design talent to key audiences’. The ERDF also contributed £800,909 to the British Fashion Council to grow the international sales of British Designers, London Collections formed part of this initiative. The two platforms have propelled British fashion talent further, contributing to the increased growth of the fashion industry and thus, the British economy. The UK’s fashion industry directly contributed £26 billion to the British economy, £5 billion more than 2009 (Oxford Economics, 2014)— growth of 22%.
Fashion creatives are not the sole beneficiaries, fashion businesses and retailers reap the most—in terms of money— mostly because of unrestricted trade within the EU’s single market. A report produced by the Centre for European Reform (2014) states that “54% of Britain’s goods trade is currently conducted with the EU”. The report also states that British membership of the union has boosted the trade of goods by 30%.
“We need to renegotiate the best terms we can, but it will be a massive blow for business if we leave [the EU]. They are a major trading partner, so it is essential from a business point of view.” said footwear retailer Dune founder, Daniel Rubin.
Read Part Two of British Fashion and the EU Referendum
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