Stephanie Phair, Chairman, British Fashion Council believes there is an opportunity for designers and businesses to reset and rebuild on better foundations. She urges the industry to negotiate business rate relief, rent relief, funding and loans with the government to help with cash flow issues. Phair, also the Chief Customer Officer at Farfetch, the luxury e-commerce platform, said COVID-19 has accelerated a lot of the conversations that had been happening in the industry before. According to her, both the designer sector and the high street will have to adapt to this new reality and be even more creative

Phair believes high street should create sustainable products at a good price points. The fashion industry must face up to the fact that it is a large contributor to carbon emissions including on production, waste and transportation, which all still need to be addressed, she says.

Despite all the challenges the industry is facing from the COVID-19 crisis and Brexit, Phair is confident of a bright future for the British fashion industry.