Top Fashion Schools in the UK: Bracing for Brexit | Education, The State of E... LONDON, United Kingdom — UK schools topped BoF’s 2016 global fashion school rankings, with Central Saint Martins in the number one spot at both BA and MA level (having also ranked first at BA level last year), and Kingston University in second place at BA level.
Eleven UK institutions made the ranking, with three UK schools in the top 10 at BA level, the most of any country in our survey. Like the UK fashion industry — which contributed £26 billion to the country’s economy in 2014, according to Oxford Economics — British fashion education is concentrated in London, home to six schools in our ranking. However, the results of the European Union referendum has created a cloud of uncertainty over the nation’s fashion schools, which depend on EU funding, students, staff and research networks to maintain their world-class position. Kingston University | Source: Courtesy EU students in the UK could lose access to student loans, grants and scholarships.
Central Saint Martins | Source: Courtesy. How retailers can fashion their way through Brexit. Political Movements in Fashion. Can fashion have a political conscience? The question is a recurring one, and the answers are all too often clichéd. Examples of the industry’s insensitivity and lack of sympathy (or knowledge) towards social and political realities surface regularly in the media, and stories about blackface editorials and articles praising the “beauty” and “philanthropy” of the wives of Middle East dictators make the movie Zoolander look like a realistic take on the fashion world. However (and contrary to popular belief) fashion is just as often used as a social commentary. When, in 1906, Paul Poiret freed women from the corset, the couturier was immediately hailed as a pioneer of the Women’s Liberation Movement.
From Mainbocher to Yohji Yamamoto, designers have used their collections as outlets for socio-political commentary, and today’s talents are no exception. Through a surprisingly understated show, Rick Owens made an obscure comment on dominance and submission, on authority and its rejection. From the Archives: Political Powerhouses in Vogue.
As the U.S. team heads to Rio in pursuit of its sixth back-to-back gold, all eyes are on Elena Delle Donne. By the time their daughter was standing two heads above her fellow kindergartners, Elena Delle Donne’s parents knew she was an unusual child, and were not terribly surprised when, aged ten, Elena joined a basketball team and led it to place third in the national championships. Recently voted Most Valuable Player of the Women’s National Basketball Association, Elena is currently poised to lead the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team to collect its sixth consecutive gold in Rio. “She is a once-in-a generation type of player,” says NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum.
“She’s a Steph Curry.” In an unlikely twist for somebody with Marvel-comic physical gifts, Elena’s life has also been shaped by extreme physical disability. The two sisters are extraordinarily close, often literally so. After lunch, mother and daughter retreat to the Delle Donnes’ 35-acre, multi-home property. What Brexit Means for the Fashion Industry. Today's news that Britain has voted to leave the European Union has sent stock markets plunging and hammered the British pound, which hit its lowest point in decades. Although it will likely take years for Britain to untangle itself from the EU, many in the fashion industry are left questioning what the change could mean for their livelihoods.
Of course, London is a major fashion player, with the fashion industry contributing an estimated $38 billion to the UK economy in 2014, according to the Business of Fashion. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below A weak pound and uncertainty about new tariffs could mean major challenges for UK-based businesses, which often source fabrics and produce in other parts of Europe. Before last night's vote, the British Fashion Council surveyed its members and found that the vast majority—90% of members—wanted to remain in the EU. This turmoil is predicted to affect prices of items coming into and out of Britain, as well. Getty. Brexit: The brand winners. While the FTSE 100 and UK currency have both seen declines, some brands are expected to benefit from Brexit.
Aldi & Lidl As the pound dropped to a 31 year low following the initial news of the outcome, concerns of another recession hit and Mike Watkins, head of retail and business insight for Nielsen UK predicted an “inevitable impact on disposable income”. That should be positive news for the discounters Aldi and Lidl as well as retailers such as Poundland. “People still need to eat and as the market is already so deflationary, the rise of inflation won’t have as big as an impact as people might think on grocers,” said Watkins. Only now consumers are more likely to turn to discounters as opposed to the “big four”.
Discount supermarkets including Aldi, Lidl and Poundland could thrive from the EU exit, due to their ability to distribute their products with such small costs and Aldi’s use of British products. Premier Inn & Travelodge Burberry & Louis Vuitton Jaguar Land Rover. Fashion’s most iconic political statements. As the date of the UK election draws nearer, politicians have turned their attention to fashion and pop culture in an attempt to wrest the youth vote. David Cameron has claimed Kardashian kinship, Nick Clegg has starred in an “Uptown Funk” election anthem, and the Labour Party has channelled Katharine Hamnett with their “Hell Yes” slogan tee. These recent antics come as no surprise – fashion and politics have long been linked.
Last week we paid tribute to Dame Vivienne Westwood’s best protests, one of the great masters of using fashion as a vehicle for social commentary. Now we turn our attention to other designers who have used their clothes to shine a spotlight on important issues. AW95’s “Highland Rape” show by Alexander McQueen saw the iconic provocateur present one of the most controversial fashion collections of all time. Fashion’s enfant terrible Jean Paul Gaultier caused a sensation when he sent men down the runway wearing skirts in his 1984 Paris show “And God Created Man.”
The models leading the charge for diversity. All Woman Project is a multi-pronged, multi-platform campaign that aims to broaden fashion's definition of beauty. Fronted by Charli Howard, the British model who broke silence over the industry's impossible standards last year, and Clémentine Desseaux, body activist and first "plus size" model to bag a campaign for luxury label Christian Louboutin, it brings together a cast of women expanding what it means to be beautiful, proving straight and curve models can and should feature together - "flaws" and all. "The industry needs to stop associating beauty with a size, or putting women into categories because of their size, colour or sexuality," Howard and Desseaux tell i-D. "We traditionally associate plus-size girls with terms like 'curvy' and 'real women', and straight-size models as 'high fashion' and 'editorial', missing out a vital fact - we're all women, and should be treated as such.
" Check out the campaign film below. Credits Text Matthew Whitehouse Videography Olimpia Valli Fassi.