On the eve of London Fashion Week British Prime Minister Theresa May celebrated the British fashion industry with a reception at 10 Downing Street.The Prime Minister continues in the tradition of both Samantha Cameron and Sarah Brown whose Downing Street parties during fashion weeks became a glamorous date on the calendar and drew a stellar guest list
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(Above) Theresa May with (l-r) Peter Pilotto, Christopher de Vos, Mary Katrantzou, Theresa May, Natalie Massenet, Burberry’s Christopher Bailey, Sophia Webster and Nicholas Kirkwood. CREDIT: SHAUN JAMES COX
Dame Natalie Massenet, Chairman of the British Fashion Council and co-host, said that the party reaffirmed “the message that Britain, and London, is very much open for business.”
(Above) Natalie Massenet, chairwoman of the British Fashion Council, wore a dress by Roksanda Ilincic. CREDIT: EPA/HANNAH MCKAY
Designers, fashion editors, retailers and for the first time, apprentices working in the industry were invited alongside, in an attempt to “ensure the broadest representatives.”
The Prime Minister’s love of fashion is well known – her flamboyant shoe collection became renowned during her early years as a minister.
May showed a deft mastery of fashion messaging by eschewing a high-fashion look in favour of a shirt from Palmer// Harding’s collaboration with John Lewis. The cinched-waist shirt chosen by May originally retailed for £120 but is now sold out.May also wore a slim black trousers by Amanda Wakeley and a favourite pair of lip-printed shoes by Russell and Bromley.
May’s decision to publicly celebrate the industry and particularly its younger workers will have been reassuring for those retailers and designers who have worried about the impact of Brexit on fashion and luxury retailers. Caroline Rush, Chief Executive of the BFC, said May was “a great advocate” of British fashion. “Her dedication to young talent – including welcoming fashion apprentices, scholarship winners and graduate trainees to Number 10 – is a great signal that she is interested in the whole of the industry from young people to global brands,” she told The Telegraph.
(Above) Vivienne Westwood arrives at Theresa May’s reception at Downing Street. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
Her clothing choices since she took on the top job in June have proven to be a subtle balancing act of style and diplomacy. As the personal appearance of female leaders and the wives of female leaders continue to be dissected more thoroughly than their male counterparts she has clearly decided that it is better to continue dressing in the style she enjoys. While she won’t be seen in wildly directional looks, through her neat uniform of tailoring, often in navy blue, she has nevertheless supported British designers and retailers, including Vivienne Westwood, Amanda Wakeley, LK Bennett and Russell and Bromley. And she hasn’t yet given up her signature leopard print kitten heels. Long may that continue.
(Above) Theresa May has a fondness for leopard print heels. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA
But while her look may be on point, in fashion industry parlance, May’s government is anything but. The prospect of Brexit is deeply unpopular in an industry that contributed £28bn to the UK’s economy in 2015 and employs 880,000 people.
A survey of 290 UK based designer fashion businesses, undertaken by the British Fashion Council in the run up to the referendum in June, found that 90% wished to remain in the EU.
