UK Fashion: Diversity and Inclusivity Report 2026
Britain's fashion landscape is undergoing a demographic sea change: a rapidly ageing population and unprecedented ethnic diversity now define demand.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for diversity and inclusivity in fashion
- Opportunities
- Silver style renaissance
- Reframing body ideals
- Using AI and 3D technology to help with sizing and returns
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THE MARKET
- The economic environment continues to throw up challenges
- Brits are getting older
- British society is increasingly diverse
- Young people are more open about sexual orientation
- Responding to the jump in obesity among young women
- Graph 1: prevalence of overweight and obesity, by gender, by age group, 2022
- The rise of weight loss drugs will have wide-reaching implications
- Graph 2: interest in weight loss medication, 2023-25
- Consider the global implications of the US’s DEI setbacks
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THE CONSUMER
- Filling growing gap in market for silver fashionistas
- Older people feel ignored by fashion brands
- Supermarkets and department stores can benefit from focusing on older women
- Graph 3: types of retailers typically shopped at for fashion, 2025
- Designing menopause-friendly fashion
- Older people do not feel represented in fashion ads
- Demand for more older real women in ads
- Sizing solutions that work
- Women struggle to find items to fit their size and shape
- Women want wider range of sizes and fits
- Snag is a size inclusive disruptor brand
- AI is being used to solve sizing issues that lead to high returns
- Weight loss drugs disrupt the fashion landscape
- Rising use of weight loss drugs impact size inclusivity
- Rising use of weight loss drugs could hit plus-size specialists
- Impact of new beauty standards on marketing
- Opportunities for combined styling and beauty services
- Championing diversity in advertising
- Young fashion brands need to cater for different ethnicities
- Graph 4: frequency of shopping for fashion items for yourself, by generation, 2025
- Gen Zs want fashion brands to use diverse models
- Using models/influencers that promote diversity
- Collaborations with underrepresented groups can drive interest
- Ensuring diversity and inclusivity efforts are authentic
- Backing up words with action in an era of green hushing
- Countering biases amid use of AI models
- Personalised recommendations based on your identity
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INNOVATION AND MARKETING
- More adaptive clothing ranges
- Adding new inclusive fashion products
- Collaborating to promote inclusivity in sports
- Creating more neurodiverse-friendly stores and products
- Inclusive marketing campaigns
- Sainsbury’s launches immersive campaign
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APPENDIX
- Report scope
- The market
- Census 2021: ethnic group population data
- The consumer
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology – EMEA
- Infegy Starscape coverage
- Abbreviations and terms
UK Fashion Industry – Diversity and Inclusivity Insights
- Britain’s fashion landscape is undergoing a demographic sea change: a rapidly ageing population and unprecedented ethnic diversity now define demand. By 2030, 35% of women will be 55+ while 23% of today’s 16-24s already identify as non-white.
- A surprising 10% of UK 18-34s have already used prescription weight-loss drugs, signalling how fast social trends can redraw category boundaries.
- Industry momentum is therefore split. On the one hand, brands such as Primark are doubling down on extended sizes and adaptive clothing, illustrating the positive commercial impact of inclusive strategies. On the other, US cutbacks to formal DE&I programmes risk creating a talent, innovation and trust deficit that could stall progress. The most immediate industry impact is a visible regression in body-image narratives – fuelled by ‘SkinnyTok’ and celebrity thinness – which threatens to undo years of inclusivity gains.
- The biggest opportunity lies in building multi-faceted propositions for underserved groups – notably older women and more diverse younger consumers – by marrying adaptive design with identity-based personalisation tools.
- The biggest threat is that the rise of weight-loss drugs will normalise extreme thinness, prompting retailers to shrink size ranges and alienate loyal plus-size shoppers.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- Impact of demographic shifts on fashion demand – ageing and multi-ethnic Britain.
- Rise of prescription weight-loss drugs and the threat to size inclusivity.
- Economic outlook and its influence on spending by older versus younger shoppers.
- Consumer scepticism over authenticity of brand DEI efforts.
- Technology’s role in inclusivity: AI sizing tools and adaptive design innovations.
- Marketing best practice for challenging regressive beauty standards.
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