Well we have had Star Wars now it’s time for Store Bores – this weeks press has been fairly critical of the general high street major retailers and the demise of the small independent retailers. In the recent New Economics Foundation report Exeter faired the worst high street out of 103 major towns and cities surveyed. The most diverse high street was Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire which had a high density of speciality shops run by independent owner managers. Nearly half of the 27 high streets in London were classified as “clones” and Wimbledon was voted the most anonymous in the capital with Shepherds Bush high street the most diverse. What a sad indictment especially for fashion, when the British Designer is so on trend world wide.

The UK fashion industry is a world wide force to be reckoned with. In London Creative Industries generates £21bn annually and employs over 500,000 Londoners. When  you consider that the UK Fashion Industry is the fourth largest in the world after US, Italy and France we need a dynamic high street to showcase such new and emerging talent and that’s just where the LFF boutiques at Kingly Court and Bluewater can help designer talent succeed. More worryingly for London is the mass exodus of people quitting the capital. Since 1994 2.3m people have left the capital for more tranquil parts of the UK, particularly the South East of England. This represents a net loss of 670,000 people now living in the capital  (so how come house prices are still so high???).  

This week the team at LFF have been in force at the GFW and, compared to last year, attendance is definitively up and there’s a real buzz to the event. Fingers crossed for a successful conclusion at tonight’s Gala – it would be an excellent finale to see independents buyers, high street retailers et al out in force celebrating the very best in new designer talent. The LFF have offered three prizes of a free 12 month membership to both LFF and London Apparel Resource Centre to the winner plus two runners-up for The River Island Gold Award. Here’s wishing you all success.

Great to have Nadia Clark now reporting from www.Joeprince.co.uk an on-line vintage fashion boutique.Nadia also has a wealth of experience as a journalist and a stylist and today we are pleased to upload Nadia’s first article https://www.fashioncapital.co.uk/index.php?option=content&task=view&Itemid=27&id=4689/27/. Nadia is based in the North East and it’s great to be able to network the industry together at a national level. Also we will shortly be including live reports from Belgium with Bart Adriaensen who has now started his diary journal. Great piece of writing and very entertaining. Click here to review Barts happenings! https://www.fashioncapital.co.uk/index.php?option=content&task=view&Itemid=27&id=4684/27/

Over to Vanessa for next weeks newswire. I am a Parent Governor at Hayes Primary School and I have the delightful task of facilitating the week-log year 6 trip to Shropshire next week…..all 67 of them! My son Thomas is absolutely mortified that I am going!  There will be utter chaos to come back to with my other two sons, the collie, the three legged cat, (the hamsters have long gone…..doors left open again!) grumpy husband…….that nervous tick at the side of my neck has started again!

Until next time.