Fish and chips, scones and jam, a proper cup of tea: just a handful of things that are synonymous with the words ‘Made in the UK’. Fashion, though? Probably not—but that wasn’t always the case.
“Britain used to be a powerhouse in global fashion manufacturing,” says Alicia Taylor, founder of sustainable shopping platform Gather & See. Indeed, The London Museum reports that the capital had a thriving manufacturing economy throughout much of the 20th century, producing huge volumes of clothing, shoes and accessories. In the 1930s, 45 per cent of all garments made in the UK came directly from London, with the areas surrounding Soho dubbed the centre of ‘wholesale couture’. So, what changed?
