On the 17th May 2023, Fashion Roundtable, along with Shadow Minister Stephanie Peacock MP, hosted a meeting with the Parliamentary Labour Party where industry leaders outlined the dire need for urgent action for the British fashion sector, which was at one time the fastest growing creative industry in the United Kingdom.

“We are over producing and over wasting at the same time. We really need to readdress this and almost have to go back to basics to understand the new vision because if you just can do a bit of this and that but the whole industry needs to change.”

Together with cult IG platform Fashion Assistants, Fashion Roundtable have lobbied Bectu, to organise this new division for stylists and fashion assistants, hosting events, collating survey data and sharing insights, many of them highlighting non or late payment issues, as well as systemic malpractice, which with union support can now be eradicated from the fashion industry.
Image: FOX

We are posing the question what is "The New Normal" on our Friday webinar and I am interested to hear what people would like our lives, our business and our economy to be when we leave the lockdown.

Last week, our CEO Tamara Cincik was asked by the UK government to create an informative vlog explaining the work Fashion Roundtable have been doing on PPE procurement for our NHS heroes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch here:

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Fashion Roundtable have been pursuing PPE solutions within the industry, ensuring industry workers are protected, lobbying for pay parity for fashion industry workers, and facilitating other initiatives.

Kate Hills, Founder, Make It British: “We are working on finding all of the UK manufacturers that can switch production to provide an end-to-end solution for PPE that is made locally. Whilst the government is currently concentrating on importing these products, this is a short term solution. Once these resources dry up, which they will do as global demand increases, we will need to tap into the manufacturing base that we have in the UK. We have had amazing support from a diverse range of manufacturers and I have every confidence that the UK textile industry is able to adapt and be agile enough to cope with the challenges ahead.”

Who are you, how do you see yourself and where are you going? This question has been key to our work at Fashion Roundtable especially with our advocacy on Brexit which is rooted in identity politics and a crisis of individuality.

Fashion Roundtable were invited to take part in The Sustainable Angle’s Future Fabrics Expo where we hosted a stall. I was moved to see our leaflets and work being shared by our amazing stall team with all those who attended.

As we enter a new decade in a time of political turbulence, menswear designers took to the London catwalks to present their AW20 collections. A handful of which had their own individual statements to make, and messages that touched upon topics further than the borders of the brands, and the designers themselves.

Never, in the history of fashion, has there been so many women dictating how men should look…

Back to school, back to work, on the juice diet, or off the wagon. This week is all about facing up to those resolutions and seeing whether we can keep them…

Ahead of the General Election, Fashion Roundtable published a Manifesto to highlight our sector’s top priorities. In the New Year, we will collectively work across industry, government, and parliament to ensure that the UK fashion industry continues to thrive. I would like to draw your attention in particular to… (You can choose a key element of our Manifesto or if you have a specific concern that’s unique to your work, include a brief outline here.)

Tom Hunter who will be a part of our March 5th Fashion Roundtable event "Parties, Protests and Photographs" alongside Katharine Hamnett CBE and others (details coming soon), will be setting up a photo booth on Savile Row, London, and taking festive portraits to print on Christmas cards for Crisis at Christmas.

Marc Jacobs on Karen Binns: "I've known Karen both personally and professionally for over two decades. Her boundless energy and enthusiasm for fashion is always a great and welcome inspiration to me. Her soaring, distinct vision and her insightful unique interpretation of 'what is ' and 'what will be' makes her a truly rare and exceptional voice in the fashion universe."

Bev Malik our Retail and Buying Director at Bev’s Paris showroom with Selena Wu. Selena is Bev’s Mentee in Buying and Retail thanks to a pilot Fashion Roundtable mentoring scheme.

For London Tech Week, Black Neon Digital and Fashion Roundtable hosted a panel event on Human Connectivity, Ethics and Fashion, discussing the importance of empathy and authentic connection and communication whilst interactions transition from the physical to the digital space. The shift from IRL to URL is happening across all aspects of life; it has become increasingly difficult to go through a day without using technology. Responding to the challenges and opportunities created by the fourth industrial revolution, the government launched the UK Industrial Strategy in 2018. (Image via Black Neon Digital.)

What are the three points that you would like Defra to pick up on?

A: It is essential for Defra, and the Government as a whole, to understand that the way we make, use and throwaway our clothes is unsustainable. Our excessive fashion consumption is causing a waste problem both in the UK and overseas.

Defra should make fashion retailers take responsibility for the textile waste they create by introducing an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for textiles and reward companies that take positive action to reduce waste. The Government’s recent pledge to review and consult on how to deal with textile waste by 2025 is too little too late. We need action before the end of this parliament (2022).  

We would also like to see the Department consider whether it could apply its promised tax on virgin plastics to synthetic garments that don’t contain recycled plastic.  

Defra should also bring together fashion retailers, water companies and washing machine manufacturers to work together to solve the problem of microfibre pollution. We need changes in the law to end the era of throwaway fashion.  

We are working with BECTU to find a way to create a sector for creatives just like you and me. The assistants and freelancers in fashion, make up, hair, PR, the works! If this goes ahead (we need your support and there’s been quite the case of people showing support but not actually turning up) it would cost £10 p/month (same as Netflix and Spotify) and once you’re a member you can pay £38 for the year (April to April) to get full public liability insurance. If we started a space or means of contact which would allow us to share our expected day rates, warn anyone we needed to or advise each other where necessary then the constant problems we find ourselves facing could hopefully decrease and, who knows, maybe one day disappear.