:00:00. > :00:00.in need. We will keep you updated on the
:00:00. > :00:00.developments in Ukraine. Now on BBC News, it's time for
:00:07. > :00:12.Talking Business. 5000 attendees, 16 deciders and
:00:13. > :00:17.millions of customers. Just how big is the business of fashion? Here at
:00:18. > :00:41.London Fashion Week, I'm Linda Yueh, and we are Talking Business.
:00:42. > :00:45.A warm welcome to the programme you times a year, the movers and shakers
:00:46. > :00:51.of the fashion world travel to New York, Paris, Milan and here to
:00:52. > :00:56.London. What is shown on the catwalks will soon be seen on the
:00:57. > :01:00.shelves of the likes of Zara and the Gap. For the host countries, how
:01:01. > :01:09.important is the fashion industry to the British economy? The glamour of
:01:10. > :01:13.the catwalk. The Britain, creative industries are an important part of
:01:14. > :01:20.the economy. The biggest sector is fashion. It is twice the size as car
:01:21. > :01:27.manufacturing and nearly as big as housing. From London Fashion Week
:01:28. > :01:34.alone, an estimated ?100 million of orders will be placed, two thirds
:01:35. > :01:38.from international buyers. The fashion industry contributes around
:01:39. > :01:48.?26 billion to the economy and employs over 800,000 people. I'm
:01:49. > :01:52.backstage at Burberry. But fashion is not just about big businesses.
:01:53. > :01:56.Many of the fashion brands are started by entrepreneurs. Paul
:01:57. > :02:02.Smith, Vivienne Westwood, and you Hindmarch. At a time when the UK
:02:03. > :02:05.government is encouraging entrepreneurship and exports, these
:02:06. > :02:10.British designers have named Reckitt Ocean around the world. -- they have
:02:11. > :02:14.name recognition. What is shown here as a germ of an idea on the catwalk
:02:15. > :02:18.may soon be on a shelf in a store near you, wherever you live. I am
:02:19. > :02:25.here with one of the biggest names in fashion, Tom Ford. I like the way
:02:26. > :02:33.you said that! Biggest names in fashion. Delightful to talk to you.
:02:34. > :02:40.Tell me about the inspiration for your collection. Well, last fall, I
:02:41. > :02:44.went right to the edge with beads, sequins and embroidery, over the top
:02:45. > :02:49.colour. Last spring, I pulled back a bit but it was still over the top.
:02:50. > :02:53.As a fashion designer, the natural thing for me is always to think,
:02:54. > :02:58.what am I tired of? What do I want to see more of? And my natural
:02:59. > :03:04.reaction is to pull back to acquire to luxury. But it is all about the
:03:05. > :03:09.line, the fabrics, the workmanship and a bit of modest luxury. I am not
:03:10. > :03:17.saying we are seeing any change in the luxury market, because business
:03:18. > :03:19.is great. But maybe it is time to be less ostentatious. How important is
:03:20. > :03:24.the global market for fashion these days? If you are not thinking
:03:25. > :03:29.globally, you are not thinking in today's world. In 2014, everything
:03:30. > :03:34.is global. Online is global all stop I don't think of anything other than
:03:35. > :03:41.the market, and the market is global. We have stores all over the
:03:42. > :03:44.world, almost 100 stores. We are well-positioned in Asia, the Middle
:03:45. > :03:48.East, North America. We are not so exposed in South America, but some
:03:49. > :03:55.of our South American customers fly to the states to our store in
:03:56. > :03:59.Miami. So we are global. How much pressure is there to be the face of
:04:00. > :04:03.the brand? There is a lot of pressure, because I am also the
:04:04. > :04:07.owner of the brand. I am the president, the CEO and the designer.
:04:08. > :04:13.But that is OK. When you are building a brand, you need a
:04:14. > :04:19.personality and a character. What defines the brand is all of my
:04:20. > :04:25.guesses and knows. -- my likes and dislikes. That is what gives a brand
:04:26. > :04:29.identity. A brand that does not have that does not have an identity. I
:04:30. > :04:34.don't believe in design by consensus. A designer brand should
:04:35. > :04:40.have a designer at the helm. And it needs a strong designer. You live in
:04:41. > :04:44.London. Yes, London, Los Angeles and Santa Fe. What is special about
:04:45. > :04:50.showing in London at London Fashion Week? I have loved London for years.
:04:51. > :04:55.I moved my design offices here in the late 90s full up they have such
:04:56. > :05:00.creativity here. I love the British. I like the formality, and I also
:05:01. > :05:04.like the crazy, eccentric side. People here are the most interesting
:05:05. > :05:09.people in the world. It is where I live and where my son will go to
:05:10. > :05:14.school, so I am happy to be here. What advice would you give a young
:05:15. > :05:21.designer thinking of breaking in? Work for someone else. Do not start
:05:22. > :05:25.your own company until you have good experience behind you. Work for
:05:26. > :05:29.someone for at least five years. Don't start right out of school.
:05:30. > :05:36.There is so much to learn and it is so tough, even if you had every
:05:37. > :05:45.advantage. Things are global, so to start a brand today, it is tough.
:05:46. > :05:49.When you come to a fashion show, you are not here just to see the
:05:50. > :05:54.dresses, you are here to check out the audience, the buyers, the
:05:55. > :06:04.celebrities. Speechless every time. It is amazing. What is it about
:06:05. > :06:09.Burberry? If you can see the show online, why come to a live show? It
:06:10. > :06:13.is just the atmosphere. That is like saying, if you can see a football
:06:14. > :06:16.game on the TV, why go to a live one? The atmosphere makes it all the
:06:17. > :06:23.more. There are amazing people that turn up, all over the world to see
:06:24. > :06:27.these Burberry shows. They are elegant, extravagant. There is
:06:28. > :06:33.always great entertainment. Just for Bailey is the most humble and modest
:06:34. > :06:35.guy ever -- Christopher Bailey. It can see the texture and everything
:06:36. > :06:42.up close. It makes all the difference. And there is nothing
:06:43. > :06:48.like the glamour of seeing a live catwalk show. I remember my first
:06:49. > :06:57.time, and I was blown away. It time I come back, it is the same thing.
:06:58. > :07:01.It is so magical. But that is not the only way that fashion brands try
:07:02. > :07:05.to get their name out. Burberry shows its entire collection online
:07:06. > :07:21.at the same time it is shown inside there. The idea is to try and reach
:07:22. > :07:26.and tap into a global market. It is not just dresses, but accessories
:07:27. > :07:30.and handbags also take centre stage at London Fashion Week. And you
:07:31. > :07:34.Hindmarch is one of the brightest stars of bookish fashion. The
:07:35. > :07:39.handbags are sold all around the world and she led the I'm Not A
:07:40. > :07:44.Plastic Bag campaign. I caught up with her to find out how she makes
:07:45. > :08:07.her handbag is distinctive. -- Anya Hindmarch.
:08:08. > :08:13.For me, it always starts with the craftsmen. I found this amazing man
:08:14. > :08:16.who can work with leather to create those wonderful graphics, but
:08:17. > :08:21.without just printing the leather . It is embossed and debossed and
:08:22. > :08:25.filled. You can create amazing shapes without it being a flat,
:08:26. > :08:31.printed panel. So I started with that. I wanted to work with
:08:32. > :08:34.something that was almost anti-brand in a funny way, because while they
:08:35. > :08:38.are amazing brands, they are not designer brands. There is a nice
:08:39. > :08:42.irreverence of making it more fun. I have always had a fascination with
:08:43. > :08:48.making things which are almost everyday items really beautiful. The
:08:49. > :08:54.handbag business is quite competitive. How do you think about
:08:55. > :09:01.staying ahead of the competition every season? You can't think too
:09:02. > :09:08.much. You have to design from the heart and feel what you do. You have
:09:09. > :09:13.to be full of conviction. If you love it and you are excited about
:09:14. > :09:16.it, it somehow comes across. Once you start thinking about what
:09:17. > :09:22.everyone else is doing, it is probably fatal. I do than what I
:09:23. > :09:27.love. And it is nice, being a woman and someone who obviously carries
:09:28. > :09:32.bags, you know what you want next. Fashion is a global business. How
:09:33. > :09:38.hard is it to serve a global market? What are the different taste you see
:09:39. > :09:42.around the world? It is actually more and more OneWorld. With the
:09:43. > :09:49.media and the internet, communication is so fast and
:09:50. > :09:52.magazines are launching globally. It is changing. There are obviously
:09:53. > :09:58.climate differences and sometimes size differences. In Asia, they are
:09:59. > :10:02.often smaller. Sometimes, a show like this with very British brands,
:10:03. > :10:07.are very specific. But there is a fascination with that sort of
:10:08. > :10:11.petitioners. I never think about it when I am designing. Sometimes I
:10:12. > :10:15.will think about a smaller size, but I design what feels right. You are
:10:16. > :10:22.showing at London Fashion Week. What is distinctive about British brands?
:10:23. > :10:25.It is a great city and an exciting place for fashion. Fashion week is
:10:26. > :10:34.full of energy. It is very creative. I don't know if it is down
:10:35. > :10:40.to the colleges or the rain! But there is a good energy here and I am
:10:41. > :10:45.committed to that. I am thrilled to be based here. I think the creative
:10:46. > :10:53.industries are so important to the UK. It is what we are good at. From
:10:54. > :10:58.film, art, theatre or fashion, there is a real momentum. Any city that
:10:59. > :11:03.tends to have great design or art or fashion tends to attract more. It is
:11:04. > :11:08.also an easy place to be. So I find it inspiring, both the history and
:11:09. > :11:17.the architecture and the cutting-edge art going on here. You
:11:18. > :11:22.started your own store at a very young age, and you have become a
:11:23. > :11:29.global brand. For anyone thinking about doing what you have done, what
:11:30. > :11:35.advice would you give? It is like the Nike ad. Just Do It. What you
:11:36. > :11:42.get going, you will find your way. Don't give up. You will get there in
:11:43. > :11:45.the end. It is quite simple in some respects. I know it is not always,
:11:46. > :11:53.but if you are passionate about something, it tends to work. Minutes
:11:54. > :11:57.ago, this was a catwalk where models showed off the latest collections at
:11:58. > :12:01.London Fashion Week. Fashion is a fast-paced and fast changing
:12:02. > :12:05.business. I caught up with the Chief Executive of the British fashion
:12:06. > :12:12.Council and Imran Ahmed, who writes a blog, The Business Of Fashion, to
:12:13. > :12:21.find out where the business is headed. Caroline, it is raining
:12:22. > :12:25.here. Welcome to London! It is a little cold. What draws 5000
:12:26. > :12:29.attendees from all over the world to come to London Fashion Week? As you
:12:30. > :12:37.said, this is London Fashion Week, a showcase of the best of British
:12:38. > :12:43.fashion and design. These people are the deer -- media, retailers,
:12:44. > :12:48.stylists, industry people here to see the collections and then want to
:12:49. > :12:53.take that to the world, whether it is through imagery or hopefully
:12:54. > :12:57.buying the collection so that it will then be in stores in six
:12:58. > :13:01.months' time. Imran, with all of the technology you can watch these shows
:13:02. > :13:12.online, why come here to London Fashion Week? I think even with the
:13:13. > :13:16.digital revolution to bring shows into everyone's homes, I think there
:13:17. > :13:24.is something really special about being in the place where it all
:13:25. > :13:27.happens. London is known for creativity and quirkiness and being
:13:28. > :13:34.bowled with ideas. In other cities, sometimes it is a bit safe. Would
:13:35. > :13:45.never accuse the designers of being safe. So it is the Bulls mess as
:13:46. > :13:48.well. -- it is the daring as well. Caroline, is there something about
:13:49. > :13:53.the training of British designers which enables them to work in other
:13:54. > :13:59.markets? There is. We are known for having the best fashion colleges in
:14:00. > :14:04.the world. These fashion colleges are art colleges. Central Saint
:14:05. > :14:07.Martins is an art college. As is the Royal College of Art. Fashion is
:14:08. > :14:12.taught as an art form because that is where the credulity comes from.
:14:13. > :14:19.It is great as how that is taken into commerce. That is where the
:14:20. > :14:23.challenge has been in the past for the British fashion industry. We are
:14:24. > :14:27.starting to make more commercial successes. There is great growth in
:14:28. > :14:32.British fashion at the moment. Imran, do you agree? Do you see the
:14:33. > :14:40.growth in terms of export or influence? Yes, fashion industry
:14:41. > :14:45.touches everybody around the world. From the high street to the high
:14:46. > :14:51.end. When we explore and think about the business, fashion includes
:14:52. > :14:55.everything. In the past decade, we have seen the fashion industry
:14:56. > :14:58.become a bigger part of popular culture and I think that has
:14:59. > :15:03.generated a lot of interest in fashion and the growth of the
:15:04. > :15:07.industry. The fashion industry for a long time was an exclusive group
:15:08. > :15:12.which travelled around and Fashion Week was the secret. But with the
:15:13. > :15:18.Internet and live streaming and social media, all of a sudden, the
:15:19. > :15:25.man on the street and the woman on the street can anticipate Fashion
:15:26. > :15:29.Week as well. This democratisation of fashion has made it part of
:15:30. > :15:33.popular culture. I was struck by the figures released by your council
:15:34. > :15:37.that the fashion industry is twice as big as car many factoring in
:15:38. > :15:43.Britain. How important is fashion to the UK economy? Hugely important. It
:15:44. > :15:49.has taken us a while to get the message across that this is not just
:15:50. > :15:56.about a dress, or a show. People look at fashion and sometimes think
:15:57. > :16:01.it is a little frivolous. But behind it are jobs, opportunities,
:16:02. > :16:05.particularly in the UK. It is a dynamic industry globally as well.
:16:06. > :16:12.We contribute 26 billion each year to the British economy. It is one to
:16:13. > :16:17.be taken seriously. There are many challenges and we would like to be
:16:18. > :16:21.able to work with the government to address those challenges. What are
:16:22. > :16:27.the challenges you are most worried about? I think it is the opportunity
:16:28. > :16:33.for home-grown talent to be able to grow. Small businesses in the UK
:16:34. > :16:39.generally have challenges. In the manufacturing and Herrick and -- and
:16:40. > :16:49.textile side, we have heritage. It is about attracting people into
:16:50. > :16:52.those jobs. It is about seeing what intervention can be possible to
:16:53. > :16:57.support the high-end manufacturing to grow in the UK rather than
:16:58. > :17:03.diminish. I see you nodding, it is a tough competitive business. Yes,
:17:04. > :17:10.about 95% of fashion start-ups will fold in the first five years. This
:17:11. > :17:12.is a competitive industry. It is not just about the glamour and
:17:13. > :17:17.flashbulbs and the models and photographers. It is a highly
:17:18. > :17:24.operational, detail orientated business. In order for some of these
:17:25. > :17:28.young designers to succeed, they are shipping to 40 or 50 countries
:17:29. > :17:33.around the world, they are sourcing their fabrics and materials from
:17:34. > :17:37.India and Italy and France. It is a complex business to manage and in
:17:38. > :17:42.order to be successful, you have to not only have great creativity and
:17:43. > :17:46.great ideas and imagery, you also have to have the operations, the
:17:47. > :17:52.manufacturing, the investment, the marketing, the sales, the logistics.
:17:53. > :17:57.All of that has to come together. Fashion is more than an art form.
:17:58. > :18:02.There is creativity in it, but it is a business. That is the message that
:18:03. > :18:07.is sometimes lost. Because of the way the fashion industry is
:18:08. > :18:13.portrayed as a frivolous industry where people drink champagne and go
:18:14. > :18:16.to parties. But there are people working hard packing boxes,
:18:17. > :18:19.organising shipments, doing all of the little details that happen
:18:20. > :18:29.behind the scenes that make the industry tech. -- that make the
:18:30. > :18:33.industry work. What are the challenges and opportunities for the
:18:34. > :18:38.industry? We have representatives coming every week but through the
:18:39. > :18:43.live streaming, and we are up live streaming 43 out of 79 shows and
:18:44. > :18:47.presentations the season, we reached a last season and it will be
:18:48. > :18:51.interesting to see with more live streaming that continues to grow.
:18:52. > :18:57.The great thing about saying it did Italy is that you can see the number
:18:58. > :19:02.of people who are looking at it, -- the great thing about looking at it
:19:03. > :19:08.digitally is that you can see those things. The market is Europe and
:19:09. > :19:13.increasingly Asia, very strong for British businesses. But we see
:19:14. > :19:16.interest from all over the world and often, some of the small businesses
:19:17. > :19:24.will have international retailers before they have British ones. How
:19:25. > :19:29.interesting, why is that? Well, this is a global industry. The concept
:19:30. > :19:33.stores from Tokyo, the US, from Germany, Italy, will come and
:19:34. > :19:36.identify with a young brand before they have started their
:19:37. > :19:40.relationships with the British retailers. It is those first
:19:41. > :19:45.relationships which are incredibly important because that is where they
:19:46. > :19:48.learn about the industry. It is great having an international
:19:49. > :19:54.partner who can help you understand what it is like to grow a business
:19:55. > :19:59.on an international scale. What about you, Imran, what are the
:20:00. > :20:03.future trends for the industry? A lot of things are driving and
:20:04. > :20:08.shaping the industry. Technology have made the industry more
:20:09. > :20:14.successful and it. Impact in the way things are produced. You have issues
:20:15. > :20:18.around sustainability and ethics. Consumers are concerned. How things
:20:19. > :20:23.are made, where they are made, who makes. But one thing that will never
:20:24. > :20:28.change and one thing which is really what makes this industry so
:20:29. > :20:32.exciting, is that regardless of trends and technology or consumer
:20:33. > :20:39.behaviour, what will always be important is the creativity. This
:20:40. > :20:43.industry, without the creative side, without the incredible people, would
:20:44. > :20:48.have nothing to sell. So as much as fashion is a global industry, it
:20:49. > :20:51.remains a creative one. So whatever happens in the future, creativity
:20:52. > :20:58.will always be the lifeblood of fashion. When you first started,
:20:59. > :21:04.what surprised you about the fashion industry? I don't think what anyone
:21:05. > :21:08.really understands is how committed the individuals in the industry.
:21:09. > :21:13.There is a huge amount of passion about the sector and people work
:21:14. > :21:19.incredibly hard. As an outsider, you look at a show and you assume that
:21:20. > :21:22.it is a short day. People work long hours, they are very committed
:21:23. > :21:27.because they are committed to perfection and excellence and that
:21:28. > :21:32.is when you see that executed well, that is when you know from a
:21:33. > :21:38.designer perspective or from a brand perspective, that you are doing a
:21:39. > :21:43.good job. Imran? I have to agree with that. I came into the fashion
:21:44. > :21:47.industry from the world of management consultancy. So all of
:21:48. > :21:51.this was interesting and new to me. But what really struck me was when I
:21:52. > :21:57.started meeting the people who work in fashion. All sides of fashion,
:21:58. > :22:02.the business side, the operational side, the creative side. People do
:22:03. > :22:05.not come into fashion because they want to become rich. They come into
:22:06. > :22:12.it because they have a shared passionate interest in the industry.
:22:13. > :22:16.Some people will go off and become very wealthy and successful. But
:22:17. > :22:20.what draws people together is this shared interest. That is why I think
:22:21. > :22:25.of the fashion industry as a community. Everybody is shared --
:22:26. > :22:30.everybody is connected by the shared interest. Fashion Week is like the
:22:31. > :22:34.world's most glamorous trade conference. As we are sitting in the
:22:35. > :22:41.Rose, there are people sitting the backs of cars, making deals. That
:22:42. > :22:51.continues to propel the business. -- as are sitting in rows.
:22:52. > :22:54.Fashion has always been a global business. The Internet means of we
:22:55. > :22:59.can all have front row seats to the catwalk shows. But it also means
:23:00. > :23:05.that it is a challenging business to attract the attention of customers.
:23:06. > :23:11.That is all we have time for this week. Check out our website. I am
:23:12. > :23:13.Linda Yueh, and join me next week with more Talking Business with me,
:23:14. > :23:17.Linda Yueh.