An issue I chose to raise with the panel was unpaid internships and how they're worsening social mobility and the chances for graduates to prove they have the drive, nerve and talent to make it in their chosen industry. Such internships, alongside the rise of nepotism - means it is no longer about what you know, but who you know. This to me is a great injustice and failing to give a chance to allow our young, British talent the opportunity to flourish is wrong. I don't want to live in a country that is run by the same stale type of person, is it any wonder fashion as a whole seems like show after show of carbon-copy. As Karl Lagerfeld said, "Fashion is an injustice", but it doesn't have to be this way.
The British fashion industry is worth £26 billion to the country's economy, according to figures published by the British Fashion Council. In an industry worth £26 billion I'm sure I won't be alone in thinking that they can afford to pay an intern a wage so they can afford accommodation, food and travel expenses. By continuing down this path we're killing aspiration, the government claimed to be one of aspiration, with more students than ever before at university. I'm afraid a degree is pretty much useless in a world in which those without the financial backing from parents or grandparents equals being unable to complete an essential internship. The talent is out there - it's up to employers to put it to good use, and put a stop to the unpaid interns scandal. If not, perhaps it's time for government intervention. Which as a liberal I deplore, however I deplore lack of equal oppurtunity more.
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