What is the value of fashion?

Vogue has a history of the origins of London Fashion Week

What is the value of fashion ?

In 2018 British Fashion Council released some data about London Fashion Week including that there were 20,000 cups of espresso served and 200kg of Lavazza coffee consumed!  For data on its impact see the Blooming Flower conversation project which has some interesting visualisations.

Direct value of the UK fashion industry to the UK economy was calculated as nearly £21 billion in a report commissioned by the British Fashion Council published in 2010.  The Creative Industries website also has data.  These include value of UK fashion reports.

General employment and regional trends for all the creative industries.
On a global scale Mckinsey offers reports in to the international fashion industry trends

What about the negative impact of fashion?

WRAP has revealed the negative impact of fast fashion on the environment.  The valuing our clothes report 2017 revealed that “1,130,000 tonnes of new clothing was purchased in the UK – an increase of 200,000 tonnes since 2012.  Fashion in the UK lasts an average of 3.3 years before a garment is discarded.”
WRAP has started an industry sustainable textiles campaign

Other negative areas include: the wages and conditions of workers.  The Clean Clothes campaign has details of conditions in developing countries.
The Common Objective arose from the Ethical Fashion Forum and discusses ethical practices and campaigns from members in the fashion industry.  It includes some interesting reports on the global impact of the fashion industry