By Tamara Cincik

Wholesale problems, fast fashion saturation, unpaid bills for inventory as companies file for bankruptcy. Just what is happening to the UK fashion industry?

On the one hand we have news that former Chancellor Sajid Javid has been approached by Shein to take on a role as they prepare to become the second largest float on the London Stock Exchange ever. While on the other hand, this morning The Vampire's Wife announced their immediate closure, Suzie Cave, Founder and Creative Director said today:

"After ten years as The Creative Director of The Vampire’s Wife, it is time for me to say goodbye. I say this with great sadness and want to express my undying gratitude to you all for your support. I wish to thank my extended family at The Vampire’s Wife who helped me create such beautiful things. I cannot describe how much you have all meant to me.

I love you all, Susie x."

So we have Sky News reporting that Mr Javid is among a number of senior City figures who have held talks with Donald Tang, Shein's executive chairman, in recent weeks. And City sources said that if the appointment of Mr Javid proceeded, it could see him either join Shein's board or become an adviser to the Chinese-founded company, with other names including Baroness Fairhead, the former BBC Trust chair, was also on a list of candidates drawn up by headhunters advising Shein.

One person close to the company said the identities of those being approached reflected both the seriousness with which Shein was taking the issue of corporate governance and the extent of its focus on a London listing. At the other end of the market the collapse of Matches in recent weeks has had a massive impact on the UK fashion industry, with a litany of unpaid bills to UK producers and brands, acutely impacting smaller, luxury fashion businesses. Matches was worth £400m when its founders Ruth and Tom Chapman sold it to private equity firm Apax in 2017. Meaning in a few short years a multichannel luxury UK retailer has gone from being one of the largest players in the market to worth less than a 1/4 of its value with a litany of casualties in its wake, including manufacturers for their own brand Raey, who Fashion Roundtable have heard from direct sources, due to non-payment have lost everything: factory, staff, income, and are now producing tiny volumes from their garages, or declared bankruptcy. This whole sorry saga is a stain on UK fashion.

The Vampire's Wife, the fashion brand founded by former model Susie Cave in 2014, whose metallic gowns grew to become an event dressing staple beloved by the Princess of Wales, who, for her first official joint portrait in honour of Prince William’s 40th birthday in 2022, wore The Vampire’s Wife’s emerald green Falconetti dress, a style once named by Vogue as the "dress of the decade".

The brand boasted an A-list clientele ranging from Florence Welch and Kylie Minogue to Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and Greta Gerwig and Sandra Oh as well as royalty. Princess Beatrice and Eugenie are fans, but it was the Princess of Wales who really placed the brand, which started in Brighton, East Sussex in 2014, borrowing its name from her musician husband Nick Cave's discarded book project, as internationally acclaimed.

Image: The Princess of Wales wears The Vampire’s Wife emerald green Falconetti dress

The news comes as a blow to the British fashion industry. “Despite a period of positive growth and sales, the upheaval in the wholesale market has had dramatic implications for the brand,” read a statement from the brand.

Retailer Matches, following its £52 million sale to Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group in December which later saw it enter administration on March 7, has caused chaos for brands and had an acute impact on smaller, independent labels. Other London-based brands have demonstrated similar struggles in response to the state of the market, including Christopher Kane (who like Roksanda boasted a destination store on Mount Street close to Matchesfashion.com's flagshire 5 Carlos Place, entered administration in June 2023, and Roksanda Ilinčić, who this month found a “white knight” new buyer The Brand Group to save it. The Brand Group is headed by fashion entrepreneur and brand builder Damian Hopkins CBE.

Last June, The Vampire’s Wife showed signs of decline when HMRC called for the liquidation of the cult fashion label due to unpaid debts. It was later settled with help from the brand’s existing investors, including the co-founder of Interscope Records and Beats Electronics, Jimmy Iovine, and his wife, model Liberty Ross.

The need for a root and branch overhaul of the UK fashion industry, one which supports British made and nurtures UK talent is why Fashion Roundtable gathered evidence from our networks and roundtables to produce our sector vision. Never more important in a General election year, with a clear need for governmental focus on more than just Shein and its value add to UK IPO.

We believe these recommendations are vital if we are to reconfigure our sector into one with long term goals, ambitions and business sustainability. Read our Delivering a Sector Vision Report

When luxury and high street brands call time while Shein courts the London Stock Exchange & the former Chancellor, what is going on?