London Fashion Week kicked off today at Somerset House, but something altogether more unique was happening on Waterloo Bridge in the early hours of the morning.
About a dozen demonstrators gathered to unfurl a 30m wide banner reading "Don't mention the garment workers" as a stark reminder of fashion's dark side – the millions of badly-paid sweatshop workers who work long hours in unsafe (and sometimes fatal) conditions to produce the clothes that many of us wear.
War on Want, a lobby group dedicated to fighting international poverty, says that the banner drop urges fashion lovers to think deeper about the clothes they purchase, especially those from high street retailers.
"We can love fashion, but hate sweatshops and want a fashion week that lives up to its responsibility to all the workers who make the fashion we buy," explained senior campaigner Owen Espley.
After 1,129 people died in the tragic Rana Plaza collapse, many in the fashion industry called for better pay and tighter health and safety regulations for garment workers. But change isn't happening fast enough for some – just look at the widespread outcry when labels reading "forced to work exhausting hours" were recently found in Primark clothes.
War on Want also took its message to Somerset House, where LFW attendees posed with its "Don't mention the garment workers" sign.
The organisation is calling for all fashion lovers to demand better from the high street and join its campaign.
Spokesperson Paul Collins said: "We're not calling for a Fashion Week boycott – workers say they need the jobs! But what they need most of all is for their jobs to pay a living wage and protection from harassment and abuse."
