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Caroline Rush: Fearless fashion industry will show the world London is open

The head of the British Fashion Council said today London Fashion Week was a “big opportunity” to show off the capital to the world despite concerns over Brexit.

As five days of shows officially opened this morning, Caroline Rush said it was her priority to prove “London fashion is open” and counter the “closed-off image” the UK may be suffering.

“We have an incredible fashion industry that is multicultural, fearless and diverse,” Rush said.

“We have a big opportunity to prove that London is open, that we want to collaborate with talent around the world. That is my message: London fashion is open. That is what we will show over the next five days. We have buyers, talent, business coming here from over 40 different countries and we want them to know we’re open.”

Rush, who was awarded a CBE in 2015 for her services to fashion, said the BFC had been working with the Government to try to prepare the industry for leaving the EU in a matter of weeks, with Brexit Day scheduled for March 29. Admitting it had been “ incredibly challenging”, she said: “The uncertainty is a big problem. It means we just cannot plan. Even if we try and work out what we’ll do in the event of a no deal or a hard Brexit, we can’t be certain.

British Fashion Council CEO Caroline Rush poses with her Commander of the Order of the British Empire (AFP/Getty Images)
British Fashion Council CEO Caroline Rush poses with her Commander of the Order of the British Empire (AFP/Getty Images)

“There are things that need to be worked out for collections and deliveries at the end of March now. It is incredibly challenging, but we are just trying to be as practical as possible and plan to the best of our ability.”

Rush said the BFC was particularly concerned about movement of people, tariff-free access to the EU, frictionless borders and intellectual property. This morning, the BFC announced a three-year partnership with JD.com, a major Chinese retailer which attracts three million customers a year.

Caroline Rush, the Queen and Anna Wintour watch British designer Richard Quinn's runway show in 2018 (AFP/Getty Images)
Caroline Rush, the Queen and Anna Wintour watch British designer Richard Quinn's runway show in 2018 (AFP/Getty Images)

There are 83 designers on this year’s schedule, including 52 shows and 31 presentations from the likes of Richard Quinn, Erdem, Alexa Chung, Zandra Rhodes, Emilia Wickstead and Molly Goddard. Vivienne Westwood and Victoria Beckham will also be showing, plus the latest collection from Burberry’s recently appointed creative director Riccardo Tisci.

Rush said the line-up was “incredibly strong”, adding: “Both Vivienne and Victoria very much are examples of the talent we have n London. We have international buyers here who will see this is our strongest to date.

“This is the best platform to show our diversity and amount of emerging talent, which has long been our strength.”

The fashion industry directly contributed £32.3 billion to UK GDP in 2017 and employs 890,000 people, according to BFC figures.

Consumer spending on clothing is forecast to rise 25 per cent to £76 billion in the next five years.