Which major UK city is the most fashionable?

It’s fair to say that the UK has its own unique fashion scene and many famous trends have come from the UK, such as Punk, Mod, and country chic. Many world-renowned fashion designers and brands were born and bred in the United Kingdom, such as Burberry, Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney, and more.

That’s why here at Kathryns, we wanted to look into which UK city is the most fashionable. To determine this, we looked into the number of vintage shops in the ten biggest UK cities, as well as how many fashion influencers with over 10k followers came from there - we then divided these numbers by the total population to provide a fair ranking for each city. Here’s what we discovered…

1. Bristol

According to our data, this South Western city is extremely underrated when it comes to fashion! Bristol has a total of 5.28 vintage shops per person, and 8.56 fashion influencers that have 10,000 plus followers on Instagram.

When looking into the Bristol fashion scene, it isn’t that surprising that they came out on top - It was announced last week that Bristol would host the UK’s first sustainable fashion show next month. 

2. Sheffield

Sheffield was ranked as the second most fashionable city on our list with a total of 3.78 vintage shops, and 9.45 fashion influencers per person.

This Yorkshire city has been named as one of the most ‘alternative and quirky’ cities in the UK, and its fashion scene certainly shows that! Every year, the city hosts its own fashion week which celebrates fashion and beauty in Sheffield city centre, bringing together high street chains and independent businesses. 

3. Glasgow

Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland, the fourth most populous in the United Kingdom, and the third most fashionable.

Research shows that Glasgow is a strong city when it comes to fashion spending - very close to London and Manchester.

When it comes to vintage shops, Glasgow had a lower amount of 2.13 per person, they did however have a good amount of Glasgow-based fashion influencers with a total of 8.29 per person. 

4. Manchester

Manchester has been killing it in the fashion scene in the last few years, with many fashion brands starting and/or relocating to the city, such as Missguided, Pretty Little Thing and Boohoo.

Unfortunately, the city doesn’t have as many vintage stores as fast-fashion ones, with just 1.18 per person. Although Manchester is home to many fashion influencers - notable influencers include Love Island’s, and current Pretty Little Thing Creative Director, Molly-Mae who was born in London but has lived in and grown her successful career in Manchester. 

5. London

London is known worldwide for being the fashion capital of the UK, given its huge population, the array of famous designers, and of course London Fashion week.

Despite London having a large number of vintage shops, when we divide this by the huge population, there aren’t as many as other cities with a total of just 1.62 per person.

London is the home to many well-known fashion influencers such as YouTuber Patricia Bright who has 1.2 million followers on Instagram.

6. Leeds 

This city has always been a key player in the fashion scene - it has a history of fashion manufacturing and design and was also the first place outside of London where Harvey Nichols opened a store.

As well as higher-end stores, Leeds is home to many vintage stores - it has the most vintage stores per population of any others on our list. As for fashion influencers, Leeds has a total of 2.28 per person. 

7. Birmingham 

Birmingham is another city which is known for its fashion scene - and we don’t just mean Peaky Blinders fashion!

This city is home to many luxury designer stores, and also has multiple shopping centres such as the Bullring and Grand Central. It is also host to a range of vintage stores with around 4.91 vintage stores per person - the city also has 2.80 fashion influencers per person. 

8. Edinburgh 

The capital of Scotland is the eighth most fashionable city in the UK with a total of 4.56 vintage shops per person.

Edinburgh has a thriving cultural scene and is known for the city’s vintage shopping opportunities. When compared to its fellow fashion city Glasgow, Edinburgh style is described as ‘classy’ and not quite as ‘cutting edge’ as Glasgow style.

Fashion influencers from Edinburgh are few and far between compared to other cities with 1.09 fashion influencers per person. 

9. Liverpool 

The scouse city has a unique style and many trends and looks are completely associated with Liverpool, such as the scouse brow and dressing to the nines for any occasion!

Liverpool was voted the Most Stylish City in the North West by Grazia readers in 2014, receiving 70% of the vote. Liverpool has a decent selection of vintage stores, with 3.51 per capita, and 1/64 fashion influencers per person. 

10. Leicester

Out of the 10 cities we looked at, Leicester is at the bottom of our list, but that doesn’t mean that this city has no fashion sense!

This city also hosts its own fashion week which is dedicated to cultivating the fashion industry in Leicester and promoting and celebrating the city's designers and creatives.

The East Midlands city has the least amount of fashion influencers, with around 4.27 per capita and has approximately 3.2 vintage stores per person.

Our methodology

To create our ranked list, we focused on the ten biggest cities within the UK and looked into the number of vintage shops in each city as well as the number of fashion influencers with over 10,000 followers on Instagram.

To make this a fair ranking, we divided the number of each of these factors and divided it by the total population, giving two separate numbers (one for vintage shops, one for influencers).

We then added these numbers together to get a final number and based on this ranked each city from one to ten.