The Hackney Fashion Hub

 

During the British industrialization period in the mid-1800’s London’s East-end borough of Hackney was the home to numerous textile manufacturers. Post-war manufacturing went elsewhere and the Hackney we know today saw the development of residential estates and high rise blocks. Renowned for being one of London’s most deprived borough’s Hackney has the highest rate of child poverty in London and ranks 2^nd nationally. However, the area is also known for its creative melting pot of talent and is home to musicians, designers, artists and journalists.

Currently on the agenda for the area is a new shiny development called the Hackney Fashion Hub. Developers Chatham Works and Manhattan Loft Corporation first promoted the idea for the Fashion Hub last November; they have now submitted a planning application for the first phase of the £100 million eight-storey complex which will include a shopping outlet, design studios, restaurant and cafe in Morning Lane, Hackney Central.

The second phase will also convert the railway arches on Morning Lane into retail outlets – although Hackney Council has already spent £1.5 million out of a £5 million post-riot regeneration pot awarded by the Mayor of London regenerating them.

The developers tout the scheme as a unique development that will not only enhance the area but create hundreds of new jobs for locals, a space for local design businesses and fashion start-ups, as well as attracting more people to spend their money in Hackney.

The idea is that Chatham Works and Manhattan Loft Corporation along with architects Adjaye Associates are already building on an initial influx of fashion outlet stores in the area. In the 1990’s Burberry opened its outlet store on Chatham Place and other British brands such as Pringle and Aquascutum have since joined in.

While some see the development as a fantastic opportunity for improvement and growth in the area others feel that it will cause further rifts and alienation within the local community.

Local journalist Ellen Grace Jones has described the development as “a temple of consumerism which will only exacerbate the problem it is seeking to heal.” Another emerging fashion designer in the area added: “I feel the small amount of opportunities the Hackney Fashion Hub will create is nothing in comparison to the negative impact it will have by out-pricing many struggling creative people from their work spaces to create a shopping destination for the rich. It will destroy the unique and creative community already here in Hackney.”

Concerned residents and business have created a petition appealing to Hackney Council Planning and Regulatory Services to reject the developers planning application.

While some protest others commend the project citing the emergence of fashion talent living and working in the area. The Trampery in London Fields for example offers shared studio space complete with production equipment and a dedicated ethos to nurture designer talent – that will in turn benefit from the bigger picture of the Hackney Fashion Hub. Significantly, the Trampery is also helping educational institutions with which it has partnered to inject courses on entrepreneurship into their curriculum and the new facility’s doors will be open to recent fashion graduates who can rent space and use equipment on a drop-in basis.

Labour MP Meg Hillier, in whose constituency the Hub would fall, commented: “A third of Hackney residents in the last census were under 24 and many are desperately keen for jobs, the Fashion Hub will provide many ancillary jobs too. My role is to keep the developers’ feet close to the fire to push for retailers to provide skills training for our locals.”

On the manufacturing side Hackney’s planning councillors have been in talks with our very own Jenny Holloway, CEO of Fashion-Enter which includes The Factory and Stitching Academy based in Haringey, North London. “People say you can’t manufacture in bulk in the UK but that’s rubbish. We have a strong, tried-and-tested model that incorporates commercial application with social enterprise. And this is something that the Hackney Fashion Hub hopes to replicate. We want to emulate the Haringey scheme in Hackney to train people in the skills they need for garment manufacture and produce small runs of clothing for young designers based in the area.”

The Hackney Fashion Hub’s plans have now been lodged with Hackney Council and this autumn Hackney’s planning committee will vote on whether to approve the proposals. If passed the work will commence in 2014.

Images courtesy of the Hackney Fashion Hub http://hackneyfashionhub.co.uk/