Official Opening of Fashion Retail Academy

The first of the country’s groundbreaking “National Skills Academies”, the Fashion Retail Academy, was officially opened on 31 October by the Prime Minister Tony Blair and Sir Philip Green, chairman of Arcadia Group.  The Academy is a joint venture between the public sector (through the Learning and Skills Council) and the private sector (led by Arcadia Group), with the Department for Education and Skills providing strategic assistance in the set-up of the joint venture.  Tony Blair described the Academy as “an important innovation to which I personally am very committed.  Having a retail industry at the cutting edge of creativity and fashion is very important to me”.

Tim Davies and John McLaughlin of Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP (“FFW”) advised the Department for Education and Skills on the Department’s facilitating role in the setting-up of the Academy.  This included advising the Department on the Academy’s constitution, funding arrangements and commercial partnering arrangements.

The concept of the Academy was conceived by Sir Philip and provides the template for future academies for financial services, construction and manufacturing.