High Quality Training Happens Right Here

Newsletter 10^th July 2019

Dear all,

Ofsted Moderation Visit Now Live

We are only half way through week and so much has happened already! As an independent learning provider established that specialises in training technical skills for the fashion sector we are inspected and reviewed by Ofsted. On the 1^st July our latest Ofsted Moderation Visit report was published and we are thrilled to say we have made ‘significant progress’ in meeting all the requirements for a successful apprenticeship provision and ensuring apprentices benefit from high quality training that leads to positive outcomes.

Fashion Enter CEO Jenny Holloway comments: “This was an excellent result for the team for this moderation visit by Ofsted. I am immensely proud of every single team member at the FTA. From three themes we were awarded two ‘Significant Progress’ (highest accolade) and one ‘Reasonable Progress’ and that reflects how hard we all work to put each learner first in their quest for industrial knowledge. I went back to night school myself for four years because I had to understand how education works – at the time it was hard work but I’m so glad I invested time doing this. I totally appreciate the teaching and quality assurance staff of all FE colleges!”

Click here to view the report.

A Full House at the Parliamentary Meeting

As reported in Drapers we held a crisis meeting at the Houses of Parliament on the 8^th July with Fashion Roundtable, the secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Textiles and Fashion, to discuss a “more inclusive” visa system to address the shortage of qualified workers in clothing manufacturing.

The support and turnout was fantastic. Fashion Enter / FashionCapital CEO Jenny Holloway said: “A big shout out to everyone who attended the meeting at 1 Parliament Street. The room was packed; sorry we didn’t have chairs for everyone! The agenda was full with excellent guest speakers, a big thank-you to Minister for Immigration Caroline Nokes for her address. For me the stars of the show were the manufacturers who took time out of their very busy diaries to travel to London including Sat Singh Sodhi, Barcode Fashion, Mike Stoll, Helen Lax, Yan, Lockstitch, Dawn Foxall, Foxology, James Stewart from Burberry and more!

“Plus the one and only Kate Hills, Make It British, Alistair Knox from ASBCI, British Retail Consortium, Judith Turnbull, Sue Mee Maudsley and many more.

“Big thanks to the hard work of APPG Fashionroundtable for organizing the event and Tamara Cincik and her amazing assistant Rafaella. We made our feelings heard! Stitchers need to be on the Occupational Shortage List!”

Survey Results

Thanks to all that took part in the All Party Parliamentary Group for Textiles and Fashion quick survey for fashion manufacturers.’

Key results revealed that:

• 81% said stitching is high skilled, the remainder thought it was medium skilled
• 88.9% thought that there are not enough skills domestically to fill vacancies  
• 63% think vacancies will increase after Brexit

Career’s Open Day with Cllr Peacock

On Monday 8th July we opened up the Factory and Fashion Technology Academy (FTA) to learners from Gladesmoore Community School. The learners along with two tutors from the school based in South Tottenham experienced our uniquely tailored ‘Career’s Open Day’, a local initiative in collaboration with Haringey Mayor – Councillor Peacock.

The team explained about the many steps of the garment life cycle (132 steps!) and the wide variety of jobs involved. The learners were engaged and involved as they took a Factory Tour and spoke to Katarina, Chris, Beth, Angela, Elle, Claire, Ana and Julia about their jobs and day to day working lives. The group also played a fun game of ‘spot the bestseller’ and found out about the various career pathways on offer at the FTA.

Haringey’s Festival of Learning – FTA & Factory Event

As a part of Haringey’s Festival of Learning initiative we have opened our doors to local residents this morning (10^th July) to reveal what goes on in our busy factory and learning facility. Visitors can tour the factory, take part in practical exercises and talk to apprentices, employees and learners. The festival aims to get local residents involved into what goes on in their borough and encourage them to pursue training in a particular field.

School & College Fashion Week

Kicking off tomorrow Thursday 11^th July is the two-day School & College Fashion Week showcase. Taking place at CentrEd Excel London the event will include an exhibition, catwalk show and workshops. Founded by Caramel Rock, School and College Fashion Week showcases student work and offers advice and direction on further courses, training and careers. The FashionCapital / FTA will also have a stand at this event so do come over and see how we can help you.

Tickets are available here.

5 Reasons Why You Should Attend Fashion Brand Bootcamp

Taking place all day on Saturday 13^th July Fashion Brand Bootcamp is an intensive masterclass where you get to hear from six industry experts. The bootcamp will cover each key area of business including; developing your collection and your brands signature, supply chain and logistics, sampling and production, sales and promotion, understanding costs and keeping on budget, along with how to keep yourself motivated and positive. Attendees can pre-book one-to-one 20-minute sessions with one of the industry professionals at the end of the session. To find out more click here.

Introducing Ethical Start-Up ‘Boy Wonder’

The Fashion Enter team have been fortunate enough to work with the talented and driven Ismay Mummery on her ethical start-up brand ‘Boy Wonder’. Ismay, a fashion and print designer, is passionate about the environment and sustainable fashion and since becoming a mum she noticed a gap in the market. Inspired by her son her brand features stereotype-free colours and prints in sustainable fabrics produced right here at Fashion Enter’s Factory in North London. The brands’ tagline is: ‘A premium ethical boys brand with ethics and sustainability at its heart.’

You can view the Boy Wonder launch collection and back this brand on Kickstarter now until Sunday 14th July 2019. Starting a new low impact and ethical fashion brand is extremely difficult and Ismay needs as much support as possible to move the brand onto the next stage. Share the campaign and pre-order and support the future of Boy Wonder.

http://boywondering.weebly.com

Belles featured on StillMadeinBritain.co.uk

Being made in Britain is also at the core of our in-house brand Belles of London, so it’s fantastic to be included on the StillMadeinBritain website along with many other great British brands.

CFE Fashion Production Workshop

Once again the Fashion Enter  / FTA team collaborated with The Centre for Fashion Enterprise (CFE) on an intensive workshop. Attendees, a mix of 13 small brands, designers and start-ups, got to tour the Factory and gain real insight and expertise on working with a manufacturer.

The day was split into two halves and began with a tour and presentation by Production Director – Caroline Ash, which the group found really insightful and informative.

“I have learnt about Fashion Enter, the Fashion Studio and the business. Interesting to look around the factory and see the ‘lines’ first hand. Great session with Caroline Ash learning about manufacturing at large, trends, costings etc.” – Daniel

“I loved the whole day and people, Thanks!” – Dobrescu

“I learnt a huge amount! Really interesting to gain a greater understanding of how garments are constructed, the process and the route to production.” – Siobhan

Thank you to CFE and we hope to collaborate again in the near future.

Staff News

Last Saturday 6^th July Fashion Enter staff met up for their annual summer outing. This year we descended on London Zoo and it was lovely to see some of the staff’s children enjoying the day out as well.

Also Fashion Studio Manager Jenny Beth Golding is about to start her maternity leave and we wish her the very best of luck.

Masterclasses on the Agenda

The Fashion Enter and FTA team understand the importance of personal development, growth and confidence along with positive wellbeing and attitude and we are thrilled that Life and Business coach Eric Gilston has committed to an on-going programme with us. Eric’s masterclasses are free and include:

• The Power of Your Mindset
• How to Realise Your Goals’ Professionally and Personally
• Raising Your Game
• Strategies for Handling Stress
• Thinking Positively and Effective Communication
• If It’s To Be It’s Up To Me

We also have a 3-Day Beginners course with Gerber taking place in September and a 2-Day Advanced Gerber course available in October all the details can be found here.
 

Fabric Swatch of the Week

This week we’ve picked out this multi-coloured abstract print soft jersey – incorporate with block colour for that statement touch. Available now at FCFabricStudio at £4 p/m.

This Week on FashionCapital.co.uk

Read the full article on Monday’s Parliamentary meeting that will affect all of us within the manufacturing side of the industry.

Find out more about Ismay’s Boy Wonder launch collection, her ethics and design ethos.

And in this week’s Fashion Fix Katie Farley reviews sustainable swimwear and the latest Haute Couture collections.

And Finally…

Here’s a happy Belles client – Claire Martin wearing cool summer linen pieces from Elle’s collection.