Should Government Support For The Fashion Industry Go To The BFC?
Music by: Simon Sizer – Aconit. Image credit: Christopher Kane.
It’s CULTED with your 60-second NEWS BLAST.
The British Fashion Council is calling on further government support for the fashion industry, warning that the UK could see a loss of 240,000 jobs unless more action is taken. The numbers come from new data released by Oxford Economics, suggesting that fashion could be hit twice as hard financially compared to the rest of the UK, and that an entire generation of new creatives could be wiped out.
The government certainly needs to do more to support the industry, but whether the BFC is the right body to receive the funds has been questioned.
In May, the BFC announced the 37 recipients of its BFC Covid Crisis Fund which provides a share of £1M to struggling designers, including Richard Quinn and David Koma. However Jing Daily reported that the recipients excluded Chinese talent, “despite the considerable contribution China’s emerging designers make to the UK’s economy”.
The BFC also almost exclusively supports designers and brands, disregarding that the fashion industry is made up of other professions and businesses too.
As well as this, many emerging designers in London have expressed their discontent with the BFC’s selective aid strategy, suggesting that the council consistently provides money to the same designers who fit its creative mould, ignoring those who arguably need it the most.
Watch more videos on CULTED
See also: CHINESE DESIGNERS EXCLUDED FROM BFC COVID-19 SUPPORT FUND
See also: BFC REVEAL COVID CRISIS FUND