Fashion
UK launches consultation to reform $135.08 bn design sector
The UK Government has launched a major 12-week consultation, running from September 04 to November 27, 2025, to overhaul the UK’s design protection framework and strengthen its £100 billion (~$135.08 billion) design sector.
The Intellectual Property Office is seeking views from independent creators, luxury brands, and other professionals. With around 80,000 businesses and nearly 2 million jobs, the sector is a critical driver of growth.
From the runways of London Fashion Week to British automotive engineering excellence, British design sets international trends and drives economic growth. Spanning everything from traditional craftsmanship to cutting-edge digital design, British creativity helps shape the world, Intellectual Property Office said in a release.
“From Mini to Burberry and the London Underground map, British design is renowned worldwide for its creativity and innovation. These reforms will help remove barriers and make it easier for designers of all shapes and sizes to protect their creations – cementing our position as one of the world’s leading destinations for design investment and innovation,” Feryal Clark MP, Minister for Intellectual Property said in a release.
The consultation addresses key challenges: a patchwork of overlapping rights causing confusion, abuse through dishonest filings, post-Brexit complications, and outdated rules failing to protect modern digital and AI-created designs.
Proposals include fighting design theft through enhanced search and examination powers, stronger bad faith provisions, and the rejection of filings that lack novelty.
Another focus is on streamlining processes by harmonising procedures, consolidating unregistered rights, providing clearer guidance, and introducing deferment provisions for up to 18 months. The proposals also aim to resolve Brexit-related issues by offering practical solutions for designs that lost automatic UK–EU protection.
In terms of enforcement and justice, a new small claims track within the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court is suggested to enable affordable resolution of design disputes. Finally, to modernise for digital innovation, the proposals recommend accepting CAD files and video evidence, updating definitions, and reviewing the scope of protection for AI-created designs.
“Design is at the heart of everything we do as a creative nation. However, protecting brilliant design ideas has become unnecessarily complex. If you’re a small business or start-up with an innovative idea, you shouldn’t need extensive legal expertise just to navigate the system. That’s why we’re consulting on simplifying our designs framework. We want to remove the barriers that hold back creators and make protection straightforward and accessible. Because when we get this right, we’re not just supporting individual designers – we’re building the foundation for the next wave of British innovation that will drive growth right across the country,” Chris Bryant MP, Minister for the Creative Industries, said.
Officials say these changes could deliver the most significant reform in decades, ensuring Britain’s designers are equipped to compete globally. Consultation responses will help shape final policy options for Ministers.
“The UK Fashion & Textile Association welcomes this consultation and is committed to working with the IPO to ensure robust design rights and effective protection mechanisms that support UK creatives and help build a world-class design rights framework,” Paul Alger MBE, international business director, UK Fashion and Textile Association, said.
“The British Retail Consortium welcomes the Government’s consultation on modernising the UK’s design protection system. Design is fundamental to retail success – from innovative packaging and store layouts to digital interfaces that enhance the customer experience,” noted Helen Dickinson OBE, CEO of the British Retail Consortium.
The Government has launched a 12-week consultation to modernise the UK’s design protection system, worth £100 billion (~$135.08 billion) annually and supporting 2 million jobs.
Proposals target design theft, simplify complex rights, resolve post-Brexit challenges, and strengthen digital and AI protections.
Running until November 27, 2025, the review invites input from designers and legal professionals.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
Published
November 3, 2025
Those who are drawn to traditional Christmas themes will love the 2025 Fenwick Christmas Window collection. Described as a “celebration of family, community and the joy of storytelling”, the department store group has embraced the festive classic ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens.
Following last year’s “widely-loved” Christmas Window, which showcased author and illustrator, Chris Riddell’s modern reinterpretation of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’, Fenwick has again partnered with the former Children’s Laureate to bring this years’ theme to life “through the magic of creative storytelling”.
Set in Victorian England, the window series features the traditional scenes from Dickens’ novel, following the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, who after years of rejecting Christmas cheer, is visited by various ghosts who lead him on a journey of self-reflection.
As in previous years, Fenwick has also partnered with The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, to compose a bespoke score for the display.
Mia Fenwick, executive deputy chair, said: “Our 2025 Christmas Window has been brought to life by the extraordinary talent of Chris Riddell. This year’s reimagining of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol combines Chris’s distinctive artistry with our team’s craftsmanship to create a celebration of storytelling, creativity and festive spirit.”
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The deals came as the Chancellor led the largest UK delegation ever to the Future Investment Initiative (FII).
The package includes up to £5 billion in financing support from UK Export Finance for projects in Saudi Arabia that will unlock supply contracts for British suppliers, and a new Barclays regional headquarters in Riyadh.
British business and jobs will gain from an $8.4-billion boost after UK Chancellor of the Treasury Rachel Reeves helped secure a major two-way trade and investment package during a visit to Saudi Arabia.
The package includes up to £5 billion in financing support from UK Export Finance for projects in Saudi Arabia that will unlock supply contracts for UK suppliers, and a new Barclays office in Riyadh.
Other major deals include a £37-million investment from Saudi cybersecurity firm Cipher to launch its European office London, and a £75-million investment from Saudi investors and bankers into British digital bank Vemi, a uK government release said.
Reeves and Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih co-chaired a growth and investment roundtable with UK and Saudi businesses leaders where she showcased UK investment opportunities.
The Chancellor also met ministerial counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Qatar to accelerate progress on a trade deal between the UK and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
She made clear that securing such trade deals is important for reversing the damage caused by decline of the past, including Brexit, austerity and the mini-budget, and is key to delivering more money in the pockets of working people through growth opportunities for business.
A trade deal with the Gulf is expected to increase trade between both nations by 16 per cent, add £1.6 billion to UK gross domestic product every year, and contribute an additional £600 million to UK workers’ annual wages in the long term.
This developed built on last month’s UK-Saudi Great Futures Summit in London that celebrated over £4.1 billion in deals, creating more than 4,100 UK jobs and bringing the total value of two-way trade and investment to over £10 billion in under 18 months.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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