London – When Laura Weir made her first speech as the British Fashion Council’s new CEO this summer, she put inclusivity at the heart of her mission. She addressed issues that have long been discussed among the city’s fashion designers: whether it is possible to run a viable brand if you don’t come from money. A lack of funding in the creative industries following the UK’s exit from the EU in 2020, coupled with prohibitively expensive studio hire and the astronomical cost of putting on a catwalk show, are among the factors that have made it more challenging for working-class designers operating today. Those from ethnic minority backgrounds face even greater challenges due to systemic racism and the barriers that come with it.
Weir intends to reset British fashion, making it more accessible for all. Working with Sarah Mower, a veteran journalist and the BFC’s ambassador for emerging talent, Weir has launched a program that takes designers back into their schools to connect directly with students and show them that a career in fashion is possible, regardless of background and geography. She has also waived fees for designers who are BFC members staging runway shows at London Fashion Week in September (brands listed on the official schedule previously had to pay participation fees of up to £30,000 ($40,683).
“It is profoundly difficult to be working-class in Britain,” Weir told a wire service in an interview. “The barriers are numerous, and they are not unique to fashion but symptomatic of the wider inequalities in this country.”
Weir’s goal, “to make the pathway easier and fairer, particularly for those from working-class backgrounds” begins with “decentralisation” and “widening access,” she explained. “By taking fashion to where young people live, we hope to make a creative career feel less distant and more achievable. The challenge then becomes ensuring that there is a thriving creative fashion economy and jobs for those young people to enter in to” — a task that requires the support of the government, she noted, which until recently has been under conservative rule.
