The Fashion Industry’s Ugly Truth: A Class System Sewn Into Every Stitch

Designer brands continue to cater only to the elite while the working class are left with what’s affordable – a system that needs to change.

There’s a silent class war being waged on our high streets – and it’s being fought in fabric.

As summer rolls in, young people across Havering and beyond are bombarded with images of luxury: designer mules priced at over £600, Miu Miu skirts selling for an outrageous £2,550. But while Kendall Jenners and Gigi Hadids flaunt Armani, Valentino, and Gucci on Instagram, what chance do the rest of us have?

“This is a fashion industry built on exclusion – and it’s the working class who are shut out,” said one concerned parent. “Our kids are growing up watching celebrities wear outfits worth more than our monthly rent, and it’s crushing their self-worth.”

The truth is harsh: fashion has become a class system. There are clothes for the rich… and leftovers for the rest.

In today’s Britain – especially in the capital – most families are battling the cost of living crisis, with parents struggling to put food on the table, let alone splash out on designer wardrobes. Clothes, once a basic necessity, have become a luxury. And for many, that £2,000 skirt isn’t just unattainable – it’s laughable.

Meanwhile, “rich kids of Instagram” mock working-class teens for shopping at Primark or wearing last season’s sales rack leftovers. The arrogance is astounding.

But here’s the difference: we value what we wear. We know the worth of a hard-earned outfit. And we teach our children to be proud of who they are – even if they don’t have a label stitched into their sleeve.

The fashion world has long operated with a disturbing elitism. Valentino is believed to have once boasted that their clothes were made for the rich and well-known – that the rest of us simply didn’t matter. But tell that to the nurse pulling a 12-hour shift in A&E, or the bus driver getting kids to school safely each morning. Are their lives irrelevant because they’re not rich or famous?

“We’re not peasants. We’re people. And we deserve to wear nice clothes too,” another reader said.

It’s time to dismantle the class divide in fashion. We need designers and brands who understand that beauty and style are not the sole property of the elite. Drop the prices. Open the doors. Let fashion be for everyone – not just the select few.

Because everyone has the right to feel confident, proud, and seen in what they wear – no matter their postcode or payslip.

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