// UK fashion industry is facing “decimation” as a result of red tape from new post-Brexit trade agreement with the EU
// Over 400 leading fashion figures have written a letter to warn Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Over 400 leading fashion figures have written a letter to warn Prime Minister Boris Johnson that Brexit was affecting complex international supply chains of the fashion industry.
The UK’s £35 billion fashion and textile industry is facing “decimation” as a result of red tape and travel restrictions from the new post-Brexit trade agreement with the EU.
The signatories demanded “urgent action” from the government to protect the fashion industry.
READ MORE: Shoppers face £5 fees on fashion items as Brexit causes delays
“The deal done with the EU has left a gaping hole where promised free movement for goods and services for all creatives, including the fashion and textiles sector, should be,” they wrote in the letter coordinated by industry forum Fashion Roundtable.
Many of the 52,000 smaller companies that make up the backbone of the sector could not afford the professional help needed to navigate the new controls, the letter added.
Luxury sector group Walpole chief executive Helen Brocklebank said the government needed to simplify the post-Brexit trading regime given that 42 per cent of all British luxury export sales come from the EU.
The chief executive of Savile Row fashion brand Connolly, Isabel Ettedgui said the financial ramifications of Brexit could be existential.
The Fashion Roundtable has demanded that the government immediately adds garment workers to the list of “shortage occupations” for UK visas to help fill thousands of vacancies in UK clothing factories.
The group also renewed calls on the government to backtrack its decision to remove the Retail Export Scheme, which had allowed international visitors to claim back 20 per cent of VAT on their purchases, but was ended on January 1.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
