Great Portland Street - Clothing Trade

Clothing Trade

Great Portland Street still hints at its past when it was major centre for London's women's clothing industry. During the late 1950 and 1960s, garment related businesses could be found all along the length of the street.

The clothing trade arrived on Great Portland Street with the appearance of small stock and work rooms in the early 1900s. Over time, these grew into larger showrooms which represented the English textile industry to many West End stores. The sector's activities were most pronounced where Great Portland Street intersects with Mortimer St and Margaret St. The area's proximity to buying officers working for the big stores on Oxford Street gave businesses in the area a competitive edge.

The sector's local presence declined in the late 1970-80's with the disappearance of both the UK's independent retailer and the British textile industry. The growing dominance of UK chain stores, with their requirement for supply chain efficiencies from foreign low-cost suppliers, meant that new orders by-passed the showrooms and manufacturer's agents on Great Portland Street and its vicinity.

Major names of the garment industry associated with Great Portland Street include Shubette of London, Coppernob, Alfred Young, Hildebrand, and French Connection amongst others. Though a number of specialist niche market wholesalers survive the sectors is now mainly represented on the Great Portland Street by garment importers.