How Trump and Brexit could reshape Asian fashion
The fashion industry has flourished in a globalised world, but experts suggest Asian designers and manufacturers would be wise to shift focus from the West to regional consumers if US protectionist policies and Britain’s EU exit unravel traditional markets
Globalisation has been good to the world of fashion but isolationist trends following Britain’s Brexit vote and the election of US President Donald Trump have sowed some seeds of uncertainty.
Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May both appear committed to a new era of patriotic nationalism in which country comes before corporate interests. And to keep voters happy, they will need to be seen to be pursuing policies that halt the tide of global integration and fuel employment growth at home.
This is bad news for the fashion industry, which relies heavily on an international workforce and global supply chain. More than 90 per cent of creative directors in London voted to “Remain” in Britain’s EU referendum, and most American fashion designers, including Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford, have made clear they oppose Trump’s ‘America first’ approach.
However, the Asian fashion industry has been less forthcoming about the consequences of an isolationist US and Britain. Clothing manufacturers in Asia have been vital to the impressive growth of Western fashion brands and high-street labels (according to the American Apparel & Footwear Association, 97 per cent of clothing and 98 per cent of shoes sold in the US are now made overseas).
