The Clothes on our Backs

How Jewish refugees from Nazism created the modern British fashion industry. Setting up Kangol, designing the twin-set, bringing new technology, new display methods, a different attitude to export and much more.

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Jews had long been active in the clothing trade in Europe, developing new production and retail methods and excelling as designers. What happened to these Jews in the clothing industry after the Nazis came to power in 1933? Many found asylum in Britain, where soon the refugee owners of Kangol and other firms were employing thousands of British workers at a time of dreadfully high unemployment. When war broke out, it was Kangol who made the berets for the British army and other forces. British companies started to recognise what the refugees could offer: Pringle of Scotland for one could see the benefits of hiring an Austrian refugee designer, their first. The refugees brought new technology, new display methods, a different attitude to export, and much more. It was no wonder then that by the end of the war the refugee clothiers were recognised as having made a disproportionate contribution to the economy. Here Anna Nyburg tells their stories.