Scottish Fashion & COVID-19

This Research & Evidence has been Peer-Reviewed, and put together by SR:D with Industry on a voluntary basis, with Scottish Enterprise and Business Gateway, wanting to work together to start making the case for better support, organisation and change within Scottish Fashion. 

This evidence proves that Scottish Fashion is a dynamic sector creating quadruple bottom line impacts across Economy, Environment, Social & Culture worth over £2.8 billion a year to the Scottish Economy. It employs over 29,000 people, plus has a vast population of Freelancers, Sole Traders, PSC and Micro-Enterprises, most of whom are women and people from diverse backgrounds, and is heavily affected by Covid-19, Brexit and Sustainability, thereby adversely affecting specific parts of the population, and places.

Covid-19 has exacerbated everything bubbling away under the surface, from impart/export issues or empty units in our streets to growing fast fashion needs among consumers, and created a turning point which no one can ignore as we set to work achieving environmental goals.

We have done this to try and share evidence for everyone to use and contribute further to, and to start to make the case for Scottish Government to help. We are using the SRD platform created with you all over the years to start some new ideas, and resources for everyone. In our new online Fashion community highlighted in every conversation and interview which took place, we will compile a library of links and Resources for people to turn to, start a new digital hub, and advocate for Government to recognise and start treating Fashion as seriously as Farming, Fuel, Fishing, Music, Literature, Whisky, Travel and other industries.

If you see something you want added, included or done differently, get in touch.

Scotland Re:Design itself fell through the gaps when Covid-19 hit forcing cancellation of all the events, shoots and showcases planned like the Royal Highland Show textiles showcase, and its fully planned major event in late 2020.  During lockdown Director Shauna McGregor had to focus on her new business, and appointed me (original project founder Chris Hunt) in October 2020 to see if I could make a recovery, and so SRD’s HQ has moved to Dundee, a UNESCO City of Design also home to Gaming, the DCA, MSIP and V&A Dundee among other amazing creative hubs. Working across sectors I see the difference in the way Fashion is misunderstood. “Isn’t a Runway just for trade?”, “How can you make change?”, “Isn’t it just a few designers?”, “It’s all just such a risk”, these are all things I’ve heard in Scotland.

It’s time to draw a line on that and redesign a better future truly reflective of the Scale, Diversity, People, Challenges and Opportunities.

The evidence concludes that we have a lot to do as and for the sector, as Fashion can be a safe place, a place full of solutions, a great home to work in, and if we work together we can create new opportunities for Scottish Fashion around Equality, Sustainability and Innovation at every level.

No one questions other sectors like this, so this Research and Evidence proves and starts a conversation about what we need to do to correct assumptions and move forwards better, as we start our fundraising to deliver events and programmes, and as we hopefully hear from you about any ideas and plans you have to share.

This Industry Report of Evidence and Interviews and the resulting Strategy and asks took a year to produce from April 2020 to April 2021, and was done on an entirely voluntary basis, representing over £25,000 of in-kind donations, plus the Data and Reports provided by Scottish Enterprise & Business Gateway.

Thank you to everyone who gave interviews, contributed, sourced and reviewed the Reports about Scottish Fashion from statistics, to sustainability, education and work during lockdown, for sharing your experiences and knowledge, and to those who contributed privately or felt able to contribute publicly to this Research.

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