Fashion News in Five Minutes 14th September…

London Fashion Week Talks Plastic Pollution – LFW Facts & Figures – Riccardo Tisci’s Burberry Debut – Beazley Designs of the Year 2018 – Shock Fall in Profits at John Lewis

LFW Takes on the Environment

London Fashion Week kicked off this morning (14^th September 2018) with an environmental message about the use of plastics in the industry. As much as two thirds of UK clothing is created from synthetic fibres such as polyester, acrylic or polyamide, which generates around 4,000 tonnes of plastic microfibre pollution in UK every year. Working with Friends of the Earth, the fashion industry and the public at large are being asked to do more to tackle plastic pollution.

Friends of the Earth plastics campaigner Emma Priestland said: “The fashion industry is a major contributor to plastic pollution, shedding tonnes of tiny plastic microfibres into our oceans via our washing machines every year.

“These fibres are so small that they pass through water treatment facilities and end up in the food chain when they are swallowed by small creatures in our seas. 

“The industry must help stop this tsunami of plastic pollution. Eco-conscious shoppers can play their part by embracing slow fashion and choosing better quality, less-polluting clothes or buying vintage items. 

“Ultimately, to end the plastic pollution crisis, we need government action to phase-out all but the most essential plastics”.

Designers are being asked to consider less harmful alternatives while the Friends of the Earth is urging the public to embrace slow fashion by choosing fewer, more durable clothing items made from sustainable materials.

The Latest Facts and Figures Reveal a Healthy Fashion Industry

• The fashion industry directly contributed £32.3billion to the UK GDP in 2017 ($41.8billion).
• This represents a 5.4% increase after 2016; a growth rate 1.6% higher than the rest of the economy.
• Fashion remains a major UK employer with 890,000 jobs supported across the industry; a 1.8% growth compared to 2016.
• New UK employment figures rank fashion as almost as large as the financial sector.

(Data from Oxford Economics, 2018)

London Fashion Week will run across five-days and will feature 80 on-schedule designers; 54 of them hosting catwalk shows, 26 presentations and more than 20 events.

Riccardo Tisci’s Burberry Debut

There’s a stir regarding Riccardo Tisci’s debut collection for British designer brand Burberry. 24 hours after making its London Fashion Week appearence on the 17^th of September the collection will be available to purchase via Instagram, WeChat and the Burberry flagship store on London’s Regent Street. Tisci, appointed chief creative officer in March, has been working on new branding with British Art Director Peter Saville, is said to be taking Burberry into a new direction, which includes its recent corporate statements on dealing with waste stock and no longer using fur in its collections.

Beazley Designs of the Year 2018

The Design Museum has announced the 87 nominees for the eleventh Beazley Designs of the Year exhibition and awards – revealing the most innovate designs of the last year.

Nominees include a water bottle by Will and Jaden Smith, Nike’s crest for the Dutch women’s football team by Wieden+Kennedy and the LEGO House by Bjarke Ingels Group.

Concern over the environment is a major theme, as seen in Formafantasma’s recycled furniture, LADbible’s Trash Isles campaign and an animation illustrating the dangers of mounting space debris.

Nominations also include electronic self-healing and recyclable skin, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Burberry’s rainbow check and Royal Ballet costumes designed by Erdem.

Shock Fall in Profits at John Lewis

The John Lewis Partnership is feeling a harsh pinch alongside many big names on the high street. It has revealed half-year profits fell 98.8% as the retailer battles against “challenging times” and discounting competitors.

Anthony McGrath, retail expert and fashion lecturer at the Fashion Retail Academy, comments on the news:

“It’s bleak in the sector at the moment. A reality check is hitting the high street like a tsunami as slimming shopper footfall is helping those at the top of the retail tree realise they don’t need the amount of bricks and mortar they once did.

“Technology and online shopping is the main driver of course and this woe on the high street is also going to be exacerbated in urban areas where the fast direct delivery and postal returns model is set to have the biggest impact.

“That puts retailers in Britain’s biggest cities on notice, particularly London where companies normally launch their intensive delivery-focused services to take advantage of economies of scale in dense populations. That said, delivery itself is under pressure as customers expect shorter and shorter lead times to receive their orders.

“John Lewis will weather the storm but there could be a domino effect as results like these force other retailers to face up to stark trading realities of their own. 

“It’s a perfect example of how hard and extreme trading conditions are right now but retailers are taking the fight to online with much greater customisation in store, better communication with their market and increased in-store engagement to drive people into the shops.”