LONDON — What does it mean to be British? What does that look like? There’s really no way around these questions for anyone in the United Kingdom right now; anyone existing in the shadow of the maybe-final-the-P.M.-swears-it-is-so Brexit deadline of Oct. 31 . They overshadow everything else, even climate activism. Banksy’ s “Devolved Parliament,” a portrait of the House of Commons filled by chimpanzees , is about to go on show for the first time ahead of a scheduled auction. Bankers are being told to have overnight bags packed in case they suddenly have to relocate to Frankfurt .

And designers? Designers, stuck with a fashion season that falls just weeks before B-day, to show clothes that will be worn in its aftermath, are extrapolating.

The point of fashion is to crystallize identity: to give individuals the tools to express who they are. But if you don’t know who you are, because who you are today (what you are part of) and who you may be in a month (what you are not part of) are different, the most you can do is provide succor for getting through the moment; for helping to process.