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Fashion & Retail Group: Doing Business in Style is published by Mishcon de Reya’s Fashion & Retail Group.If you have questions about any of the topics, please speak with the person named at the foot of each article or ask your regular Mishcon contact to put you in touch with one of our specialists.

IMMIGRATION ISSUES FACED BY A GLOBAL INDUSTRY

From an immigration perspective, no industry is more truly ‘global’ than the fashion industry. Many designers show twice a year in London, Paris, Milan, New York and Tokyo, with each collection specially crafted to appeal to the local market of fashionistas, fashion editors, celebrities and retailers alike.

With high net worth markets developing in China, Russia, India and Brazil (to name only a few), the importance of inherent knowledge of conventions and styles is imperative to allow the fashion to alter geographically – a factor as vital to successful retail as the quality of the cut and the fabric. Moreover, to complicate matters further, not only does the fashion industry have to cater for local tastes, but it also has to ensure that, where collections are adapted and modified for differing markets, the integrity of the brand is protected through the creation of authentic parallels from one adapted collection to the next.

These issues are largely unique to the fashion industry, and give rise to a very plausible need to engage expertise from different cultures and backgrounds at various levels – design, marketing, business development and even manufacturing – not always located in their country of origin. However a strong dichotomy exists in that, fashion, as one of the most global industries on the planet, is also one of the least well equipped to fit within the strictures of the UK Immigration Rules.

For further information, contact:
Jennifer Lambe
+44 (0)20 7440 7136
jennifer.lambe@mishcon.com