ABSTRACT
Pink price stickers on black and white tags. The screech of hangers and the heft of garments parted for careful consideration. Forearms aching on the walk to the changing room. Topshop may have been the jewel in the crown of UK high street fashion in the 2000s, but the rest of the crown was also pretty bedazzling. When the first UK lockdown was announced in March 2020, the fashion retailer Boohoo changed its entire inventory in less than two weeks. Boohoo denied the allegations, saying in a statement that it was ‘shocked and appalled’ by the allegations and committed to rebuilding the reputation of textile manufacturing in Leicester. The researchers concluded that the ‘onshoring’ of manufacturing by British retailers presented a considerable opportunity for the city. Many high street fashion retailers may have been killed off by more agile, less scrupulous online competitors.
