Vivienne Westwood's tartan designs
The economic downturn seems to be having a patriotic effect on the fashion industry with lots of buyers turning to British designers, Reuters reports.
Amanda Ware, who buys accessories for luxury store Fortnum & Mason in London, told Reuters that the British labels have overtaken French and Italian as the most popular. She said: "I think it's this whole Britishness thing."
"There's been a lot of support for both Vivienne Westwood and Paul Smith, it's been the strongest this season. Vivienne Westwood is more tartan, Paul Smith is strong with the Union Jack. It's really flown over the past 8-12 weeks."
She has changed her buying patterns to fit with this new trend.
Geoffrey de La Bourdonnaye, chief executive of Liberty of London, told the news agency: "I think there is a general trend of people buying from their own country. Globally, protectionism is growing, and you see that in fashion."
He added: "There has always been in Britain a tendency to buy local, for a couple of reasons. There's the green reason, and also national pride -- the British are very proud of their craft -- and now it's also cheaper to buy British.
There is a downside to the buying British policy though. It may close off foreign markets for designers particularly from new middle classes in fast-growing economies.
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