There has been little cause for celebration in Downing Street this week. But on Wednesday evening the prime minister, accompanied by his wife, Carrie Johnson, and their children, hosted a champagne reception in honour of sustainable fashion.
Boris Johnson pledged £80m in government funding for a programme of structural change which the British Fashion Council believes can move the UK industry toward a circular model.
Promising that “the cheque is on its way”, Johnson spoke of London’s heritage as the birthplace of the suit, saying that the tailoring invented in the capital was worn “by everyone from Mao Tse Tung to the men in grey suits who turned up in my office the other day”. Johnson mentioned advances in fabric technologies including mushroom leather, noting that he was reading “a wonderful book” about mushrooms. Carrie Johnson has raised the profile of renting clothes as a move toward sustainability, with high-profile hires including her wedding dress, her wardrobe for last year’s G7 summit, and a Vampire’s Wife dress worn for last weekend’s Platinum Party at the Palace.
But as with other recent Downing Street parties, the legitimacy of this event was called into question. Attenders who challenged whether progress toward sustainability warranted a party included Orsola de Castro, co-founder of Fashion Revolution. “There is nothing to celebrate – we are facing a huge problem, and not enough is being done,” said de Castro, who called for a new model in which profits were reinvented in supply chain prosperity. “We won’t get anywhere until all brands commit to slowing down overproduction, and to paying their workers properly. What I hope an event like this can achieve is to honour the practitioners of sustainability, and perhaps show that this conversation is now reaching maturity.” Designers Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi of independent label Preen, which has pioneered the use of ‘deadstock’ waste fabric being recycled in new collections, said that small brands “try to do what we can” but that “real change requires legislation which holds the major companies to higher standards”.
But Stephanie Phair, outgoing chair of the British Fashion Council, struck a hopeful note. “Imagine a great city like Leeds reclaiming its heritage in this industry – but with reprocessing plants for fabric reuse, and take-back centres for clothing in high streets,” she said. Justine Simons, London’s deputy mayor for culture and the creative industries, spoke of the continuing importance of London fashion week to the wider economy and culture. “There is a real energy coming back after the pandemic, and it is important for London to have emblematic moments that reinforce its standing as a global capital.”
