<< back to Newsletters

Time to Revive the British Textile Trade

24-04-2025   


FashionCapital Newsletter
21st February 2018

Dear all,

Our sister company, Fashion Enter, is in the press again this week. The article in Draper’s Record by Pui-Guan Man, published on the 19th February, is headlined ‘Fashion Enter Scouts New Irish Factory’ discusses our on-going collaboration with Derry City & Strabane District Council on mentoring and the development of a manufacturing unit in the area. Derry was built upon the fashion and textile trade – and in its heyday was recognised as the ‘shirt-making capital of the world’. A revival in the making. More on this story soon!

EEF National Manufacturing Conference

Yesterday (20th February) Jenny Holloway, CEO of Fashion Enter & FashionCapital, rubbed shoulders with the likes of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn alongside twenty + speakers at the EEF National Manufacturing Conference 2018 – ‘Global Britain: Change, Opportunity, Growth’. Invited as a panel speaker Jenny’s topic of discussion was on how to ‘Support and sustain a post-Brexit workforce.’ She touched on Britain being responsive to changing market conditions and the importance of having skilled employees and practices in place to ensure a speedy and competitive turnaround.

Commenting on the Conference she said: “Both Liam Fox, MP, and Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Opposition, highlighted the real strength of manufacturing in the UK today. (In 2017 the sector expanded by 2.7% and growth in Q4 was 1.3%, the best amongst all the sectors and is well above the average of the last 10 years.) I personally have no doubt of the absolute sincerity from both speakers but with all initiatives and policies it’s actually the implementation. We also need some quick wins! 

“Once a year in America, since 2012, they hold a ‘Manufacturing Day’ where almost 3000 companies open their doors to schools and colleges. This is just what we need to raise the profile of manufacturers in the UK today. Perhaps a job to coordinate by the EEF and Top 100 Manufacturer!”

Read about the EEF Conference here.

London Fashion Week AW18

LFW AW18 has just drawn to a close and what an action packed 5-days it has been. From all the up and coming talent at Fashion Scout to the back-to-back schedule of catwalk shows and presentations. Jenny spoke to a packed audience, organised by Fashion’s Finest, on the topic of ‘what is an ethical factory.’ We said an emotive ‘farewell’ to Christopher Bailey who presented his last collection for Burberry after 17-years at the helm. And for the first time Her Majesty the Queen was spotted on the FROW at Richard Quinn’s catwalk show before presenting him with The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design. Her Majesty is no stranger to the world of fashion – back in 2012 Fashion Enter facilitated a fashion exhibition and heritage display for The Queen to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee.

The Manufacturer Top 100 2018 – Nominations Now Open

The idea of The Manufacturer Top 100 began in late 2013. The project aims to provide a platform for the recognition of industry role models. The publication showcases the enthusiasm and commitment of the incredible individuals behind the innovation and drive in the sector. Fashion Enter has made the Top 100 list twice and has now been invited to judge this year’s nominees. Last Monday Jenny Holloway attended her first meeting as a judge and this was followed by the launch of Digital Manufacturing Week 2018 at the House of Lords. To find out more about The Manufacturer Top 100 click here.

Vetigraph 3-Day Course – New Dates

We have some new dates for our popular 3-Day Vetigraph course, 19th to 21st March. VetiGraph creates accurate first patterns and simplifies the grading process, skilled Vetigraph operators are highly sought after in the fashion production sector.

Lan, a previous learner on the course comments: “I really enjoyed the course. I have learnt a lot on pattern making, grading, layplan and costing on Vetigraph. I created my first ASOS pattern on Vetigraph yesterday, which was very exciting! I can’t wait to create more patterns on Vetigraph now.”

To find out more regarding costs and to book your place – please contact: education@fashion-enter.com

Pattern Grading with Maggie Stott

We have the last few places remaining for the Pattern Grading for Womenswear course with the highly experienced Maggie Stott commencing this Saturday. Grading has become a lost art, reduced to a set of instructions applied in a disjointed way. The skilled grader understands the nuances of a style and customises the grade according to need. This is a two-day course with Maggie, held at the Fashion Technology Academy – 24th February and 3rd March. E-mail eduaction@fashion-enter.com to find out more and book!

Masterclasses Coming Soon…

Next Monday, 26th February, Design Consultant Gabby Shiner-Hill will host the 2-hour ‘Design Process and Product Development’masterclass. She will share her insight on:
+ MOQ, Width, Weight – find out why these are important when you embark on your fabric sourcing.
+ ‘The Tech pack’ – What is it and what do you need to include?
+ Piece dye or Yarn dye? Terminology getting you down? Find out more.

This is followed by the Future-Proofing Your Brand With Trend Forecasting’ masterclass hosted by Lester Pedersen the Creative Director of the TRENDZOOM on Tuesday 6th March“In this masterclass, I’ll reveal how to use techniques to tap into your own intuition and instincts. We’ll look at working practices and methods to get the best out of trend information, while staying true to own vision and the personal identity of your brand.”

All masterclasses are £40 per session with 20% off for members click here for details.

On FashionCapital This Week…

It’s London Fashion Week mania, find out which show was a firm favourite for FC fashion journalist Sophie Lau here.

Move over womenswear Mini Modelaunched in tandem with the start of LFW putting the spotlight on the growing kidswear market.

‘Diversity’ was a key phrase at this season’s LFW – and these Street Style shots are full of it, images courtesy of Sherion Mullings.

New In at the FC Fabric Studio

Thinking ahead to AW18, inspired by the latest collections on show at LFW, we have picked out this soft touch bronze velour. This rich bronze tone made a regular catwalk appearance, as did sumptuous tactile fabrics. Soft Touch Bronze Velour available now at FCFabricStudio at £6- per metre.

And Finally…

The fashion industry directly contributed £29.7billion to the UK GDP in 2016 ($41.7billion), according to data from Oxford Economics, certainly no shrinking violet fashion can easily be put on a par with other major economic sectors – now that’s something to be proud of!

Until next time, have a fantastic week.

The Team at FashionCapital.




<< back to Newsletters