British Fashion Council concerned that high tuition fees and living costs will block emergence of next generation of fashion greats
British fashion is a success story of the moment. An estimated £100m worth of orders will be placed by those attending the 58 shows at London fashion week, with £74m of those funds coming from abroad. But the pipeline of creative talent which feeds the industry is in serious danger of drying up as tuition fees prevent talented young British students taking up places at world famous colleges such as Central St Martins.
This was the stark warning given by the British Fashion Council even as the champagne flowed to mark the first of the week's shows, at Somerset House on Friday morning.
"All the greats of modern British fashion – McQueen, Galliano, Kane – have come from working-class families," said Sarah Mower, the BFC's education tsar and a visiting professor at Central St Martins. "That is the story of British fashion." The current crop of successful home-grown names "came through at a time when fees didn't exist, or were affordable," she added.
Such is the level of concern that the BFC has made education the primary message of this LFW. "Our world-famous fashion colleges play a key role in what makes British fashion fantastic," says chief executive Caroline Rush. "When you talk to [star designer] Jonathan Saunders, he is very frank and straightforward that he wouldn't have been able to become a designer if he had been faced with the fees now being charged. We are really concerned that fees, and the cost of living in London where many colleges are based, will prevent the next generation of talented British students from non-privileged backgrounds from coming through."
The British fashion industry is being urged to follow the American model where industry, alumni and philanthropists "give back" by bankrolling bursaries and scholarships to boost the next generation of talent. Marks & Spencer, the first British business to sign up, announced on Friday that it would underwrite an annual BA degree, beginning next year. "Marks & Spencer are the first on board, and we are aiming to get from one to 10 pretty quickly," said BFC chairman Natalie Massenet. "It is paramount that we secure London's reputation for producing the best fashion talent."
New York-based label J Crew is marking the opening of its first London store this autumn by paying for three year-long bursaries to CSM students, covering tuition fees and accommodation. Meanwhile, London mayor Boris Johnson wants to focus on encouraging British-educated fashion students from abroad to start their businesses here, by extending the "fast-track"visa system for candidates of exceptional ability to apply to fashion design. Johnson this week described the plan as "a clear message to … the fashionistas of Beijing that London is the place they should come to develop ideas [and] build new businesses".
But while the loudest rallying cry is to titans of industry, Massenet is also reaching out to London's army of street fashionistas, urging the city to "dress up" for fashion week. "In New York everyone knows when fashion week is on – it feels like fashion week. I want it to be the same here," she told Vogue recently. She has written to all the week's participating designers, encouraging them to use social media to make as much noise as possible about LFW and create an appetite for fashion that extends beyond the show venues. "This is a moment not just to engage the people sitting in your front row, but to engage the people at home who would love to be there," says Rush.
The BFC has scored a coup in signing up Google's Peter Fitzgerald as head of innovation. Fitzgerald has described the role as "a fantastic opportunity. There is so much growth opportunity for fashion brands to harness the power of technology, both for showcasing and e-commerce. Through demystifying the digital landscape, we aim to empower British designers to build their brands on a global stage."
Despite the stark warnings about an industry in imminent danger of being starved of the oxygen of talent, the formidable Massenet also turned the London rain into a positive. "It was such beautiful weather at New York fashion week," she said, "so I'm happy we've one-upped them by giving fashionistas the chance to wear their new autumn fashions."