Interview: British Fashion Council pushes for more diversity and Chinese representation: CEO

LONDON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The British Fashion Council (BFC) is striving for ethnic diversity and more representation of designers and models from China to change the industry for good.

"London Fashion Week is the platform to reach a global audience. It's also an opportunity for us to talk about the progress we're making in the areas of diversity and inclusion," British Fashion Council CEO Caroline Rush told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Rush stressed she hopes more Chinese designers and fashion models move into the spotlight.

"We have to represent the society that we live in. London is a city which is one of the most diverse cities in the world. There's a large Chinese community here, and so it's really important their force is represented on the catwalks," she said.

However, fashion businesses are still not adequately prioritizing diversity and inclusion, according to the BFC's Diversity &Inclusion in the Fashion Industry report published in 2022.

"We've recently done a report looking at diversity and inclusion programs and businesses. We now want to develop that into a benchmarking program that will allow us to look at where we need to improve," said Russ.

London Fashion Week, organized by the BFC, took place from Sept. 16-20 in a hybrid digital and physical format this year. The council aims to fight prejudice and drive greater diversity throughout the fashion industry.