Will London’s political identity after Brexit affect its rich history as an international talent magnet?
London believes itself a fashion capital. And sometimes belief is all that’s necessary. But as we lose faith in our own creative habitat, what will become of the talented creatives currently flocking to British shores to work and study?
While fashion has always worked around change, (often the best ideas emerge from the most challenging of political periods – Punk was the culmination of political unrest and rebellion against the elite, Dior’s ‘New Look’ a boundary pushing post-war creation), the result of the United Kingdom’s referendum to leave the European Union has shaken London to its core. The departure of the UK from the EU will drastically affect many aspects of our lives and especially free movement across the continent that we currently enjoy. Nobody knows what will happen in regard to our legal rights, what this country will represent in 10 years’ time or how fashion will respond to these changes. What we do know however, is that both the election campaign and the vote itself have combined to create a stark sense of hostility towards those not from our small island.
Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion have sat centre stage in the process of producing a large percentage of global fashion names, and the talent and creativity that comes with it. Students travel from across the world to study here and once they finish their formal education often look to work in the UK. But the social impact is not the only thing that will change how young talent interacts with London. Creatives will find it much harder to work for British brands that have in the past strived for diversity. Diversity may not seem as important once they have to pay for it however. At £2000 a head per annum, hiring non-British citizens is bound to become far less attractive to employers. And if there’s no chance of finding work, what’s stopping someone looking to France or Germany to study instead? While University of the Arts Vice- Chancellor Nigel Carrington states “In 2012-13 there were 125,290 EU students
studying in the UK - 5.5% of all students at UK universities. Within University of the Arts London, that figure stands at 15% of our students.”. When asked what the future of Central Saint Martins for International students will look like post Brexit, the University of the Arts International Admissions Administrator believes that “Until we leave the European Union it is ambiguous as to what the terms will be for EU students.” This being said nearly a year after the vote.
Fashion also contributes £29 billion pounds to the British economy, stated by the British Fashion Council, with London at the heart of that figure. Working as a hub and a centre renowned for promoting emerging talent, London has remained a first rate city for artists and designers to thrive. A suspected end to free trade creates a problem for fashion in particular. Britain will have to negotiate new trade agreements, and while some agree that this may result in a beneficial outcome, experts believe that it will make it much harder to export and import goods, as well as making it harder for brands to establish and develop themselves abroad.
The vote to leave the European Union will also undoubtedly mean a restriction on free movement. European citizens will lose the right to move and work in Britain, which will severely damage fashion brands who rely on the work of young international creatives. While this will make it harder for young creatives to obtain jobs internationally, it will also make it harder for them to travel to cities such as London to study, which can often be the most influential and exciting period of any designers’ creative growth.
There may however, be a better outcome for London than there is for the majority of the UK. Mayor Sadiq Khan has already suggested the idea of London only Visas to promote business in the city, and London’s creative and youthful nature will undoubtedly salvage itself from the precipice. 75% of those under the age of 25 voted to remain a member of the EU and a survey by the British Fashion Council discovered that 90% of British Fashion Designers voted to remain in the EU. And most importantly London itself voted to remain. And while the referendum results emerged nearly a year ago, it seems as though many are still putting on a brave face. It will take a lot more to sink the ship but Brexit definitely rocked our creative buoyancy.
