Fashion Roundtable founder and CEO, Tamara Cincik, weighs in on the election news coverage and how the same stories are covered by different newspapers and media outlets, all of whom of course hold divergent political allegiances. She believes this is important for finding common ground that will create real and inclusive change.

Over the past year, the fashion industry has made huge strides to becoming more inclusive, committing itself to represent a wide spectrum of genders, ethnicities and cultures. However, there is one consumer group that remains severely underrepresented- individuals with disabilities. The release of Grazia’s Big Fashion Issue this week aimed to address this exclusion.

Last Wednesday Fashion Roundtable partnered with The Hox Holborn for our Body Image and Identity Politics Event. The panel, chaired by Tamara Cincik and featuring Caryn Franklin MBE, Farrah Storr Editor of Cosmopolitan, Chidera Eggerue intersectional feminist and founder of #saggyboobsmatter, Jules Von Hep celebrity spray tanner and body positivity advocate, Grace Woodward TV presenter and stylist and Jacob Mallison Bird Drag artist, model and Oxford PHD student, discussed identity and body positive body image with a focus on inclusion, diversity and representation.

In August 2017 Amazon released a report detailing how a team of programmers developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system that was able to generate new images of products from the input of product category (male or female tops, bottoms or shoes) and user style, determined by analysis or a number of images associated to the user such as online purchase history. One year later, and the potential of designer algorithms remains a trending topic.

The Design Council’s recent design economy research has supported the message that a more diverse workforce will lead to a more diverse output and wider audience appreciation. The Design Council has added depth to this understanding by uncovering further statistics and underpinning their message with both the positives and negatives of a diverse design workforce. The Design Council explains that a more diverse workforce will be able to understand the needs of an increasingly diverse population.
 
Using both the full Design Economy 2018 report and their article on the link between diversity and business performance, Fashion Roundtable looks to break down their findings and view them from the perspective of the fashion industry.

The European Journalism Observatory (EJO) recently analysed the gender diversity in bylines across 11 different European countries. The result echoed the gender imbalances across all creative industries, with women continually falling second behind men. This issue filters through to all creative industries, and needs addressing at the source of the problem.

Eszter Kantor, our EU Politics expert, comments on Theresa May’s recent efforts in Brussels and how her attitude towards the four freedoms may be relaxing.

The authentic Romanian fashion brand, Bihor Couture, is taking a stand against cultural appropriation. They are looking to preserve the beauty and importance of their traditional clothes which are so important to their culture, and call-out fashion powerhouses like Dior for taking inspiration without giving credit.

Yesterday the Commission published a new Brexit preparedness notice for those with professional qualifications. This is the latest in a serious of guidance notes preparing stakeholders for a no-deal scenario. It impacts skilled professionals who have obtained a official qualification and use this qualification when accessing jobs in the EU. Our EU expert, Eszter Kantor, comments on this development.

Mary Creagh MP’s announcement on ‘fast fashion’ holds a crucial message for everyone. The #SlowSummerFashion movement highlights the need to buy less this summer.

Modern day slavery is a crucial issue within the UK, yet it is not something everyone is aware of. It generates $150bn worldwide and an estimated 40m across the world are living in slavery.

4x faster job creation than other industries.

Conditions put into place to allow industry to grow

Survey across CIs and what vote trends were

96 % in favour of Remain

 Welcome and general introduction by Tamara Cincik 

- Around the table short introductions by all attendees 

- Introduction to first speak by Tamara 

For an industry, which conservative estimates say voted 95% Remain, the need for dialogue around Brexit and the potential impacts to the fashion sector are clear.

A sector based on global trade and talent, with creative exchange and international travel at the heart of it's business model: how does it survive and indeed thrive through the upcoming UK and EU trade deals, as they begin in earnest next month in Brussels?