Why agricultural employment and rural industries could influence the next generation of British fashion
By Roper Penberthy
London fashion loves a new movement. One month everybody is dressing like an Italian aristocrat who has lost his passport. The next month the same people are wearing oversized jackets and claiming to have discovered authenticity.
There is, however, a genuine story behind the growing interest in country clothing. Agriculture supports an enormous range of skills, industries and employment opportunities. These include machinery, animal husbandry, logistics, food production and specialist manufacturing.
The agricultural employment sector deserves more attention from people who imagine that interesting careers are confined to creative agencies and fashion houses. Agricultural Jobs and Careers offers a useful starting point for considering the professional opportunities behind the countryside image.
Fashion businesses could also benefit from understanding the people who actually work in agriculture. Their clothing requirements are shaped by weather, safety, comfort and durability. These are rather demanding design specifications compared with producing something that looks good beside a hotel swimming pool.
There is an opportunity for British designers to collaborate with rural manufacturers and workwear specialists. Such partnerships could produce clothing that combines traditional British materials with modern construction.
Perhaps London should stop treating the countryside as a decorative backdrop for expensive photographs. It is an economy, a workplace and a source of considerable design inspiration.
And if the next great British fashion entrepreneur happens to have spent ten years understanding agricultural supply chains, I shall not be surprised. I might even buy her jacket.