Ads
By
AFP
Published
Jun 21, 2016
Reading time
2 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Armani urges trendsetter Britain to stay in EU

By
AFP
Published
Jun 21, 2016

Giorgio Armani has urged Britain to stay in the European Union, warning that the bloc would be worse off without England's influence on fashion and design.


The Emporio Armani men's SS17 show finale with Giorgio Arman - Instagram @armani


"I'm in favour of the British staying in Europe," the legendary Italian designer said in Milan, where a week of menswear shows wrapped up on Tuesday with the unveiling of Armani's main Spring-Summer 2017 collection.

"The island is part of Europe and I have always seen England as the avant-garde part of Europe -- the bit that moves, that develops, always the first to do something eccentric and to give space for art."

Britain is a relatively minor player in Europe's fashion industry in terms of manufacturing and global sales.

But the country's vibrant music and street fashion scenes have helped to make it disproportionately influential on catwalk trends.

British designers are dotted around the top fashion houses on the continent and London fashion schools attract talent from all over the world.

A recent survey of UK-based designers by the British Fashion Council found that 90 percent wanted the country to stay in the EU, mainly because of concerns that Brexit would make it harder to export their wares and that international student numbers could fall through tighter visa restrictions.

Vivienne Westwood, one of the innovative designers Armani perhaps had in mind, said it would be "absolutely tragic" if Britain were to leave the EU.

"I am disgusted that we might leave," said the 75-year-old who made her name by putting punk style on the catwalk. "I'm ashamed of what is going on in England. It is awful.

"We fought two world wars to have cooperation and unity and now it is like every man for himself," added Westwood.

"And somehow the English have been manipulated into thinking they'll get more money if they leave and of course they won't because the whole world is bankrupt and everything is getting worse and worse."

Copyright © 2024 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.