Newsletter
Here at the Fashion District we’d like to give a big thank you for the tremendous turn-out and support at the Fashion District’s official launch on September 10th at Christopher Raeburn’s studio.
The event was a great example of how the Fashion District can bring together industry, education, investors, public sector and the local community. Together, we are confident that we can create a legacy for the future, bringing positive change to East London and its creative communities, and a global hub for fashion innovation.
Check out the video of our launch below and please feel free to share it with your networks.
If you were not able to make it but would like to get involved, please get in touch with us at hello@fashion-district.co.uk, we’d love to hear from you!
The Fashion District will host programmes that inspire people to innovate together and today we are delighted to announce an industry innovation challenge, sponsored by our partner, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.
The Fashion District in partnership with the Fashion Innovation Agency at LCF is inviting expressions of interest to enter our ‘Destination 2028’ Store of the Future Innovation Challenge. We are delighted that, through the generosity and spirit of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, the Fashion District will have a tangible opportunity to spark collaboration with retail and support creativity.
Westfield’s recently debuted report ‘Destination 2028’ outlines a new vision for the future of retail, offering a glimpse into how retail spaces could evolve over the next ten years (you can read more about it here.) Using this as stimulus, technology and fashion businesses are invited to develop and pitch new retail concepts that could transform the way we shop in the future.
With this innovation challenge, the Fashion District and Westfield hope to bring together fashion businesses, technologists and digital marketeers to explore the use of technologies included in retail settings, with the winning concept judged by an expert panel for monetary prizes to develop or pilot the concepts further.
The competition will open early 2019. If you are interested in applying and would like to be kept updated about the competition, please drop us a line by filling in the enquiry form below and sign up to our mailing list.
Located in the heart of Poplar, Poplar Works is a home for east London’s fashion economy – a new space where people will come to work, learn and gain skills.
Set to open in summer 2019, Poplar Works is a new type of space that will co-locate workspace, manufacturing, and education facilities in a new flagship building in Poplar, as well as a network of satellite sites a few minutes’ walk away.
With a combination of low cost studios, enterprise programmes and training facilities, we want to give start-up fashion designers, manufacturers and makers the support they need to grow, whilst helping more east Londoners to find work in the fashion sector.
The product of a proud partnership between Poplar HARCA, The Trampery and London College of Fashion, UAL, Poplar Works is part of the Fashion District.
What is Poplar Works?
This hasn’t been done before, and we can’t wait to see what happens. Studios are available to let from September 2019, visit www.poplarworks.co.uk or email hello@poplarworks.co.uk to find out more.
On July 26th, creative workspace specialist The Trampery and the Fashion District held a studio preview and launch event for applications to be one of the first 23 residents of the fashion studios at Fish Island Village.
The project aims to bring together London’s hottest fashion businesses, ranging from luxury labels to disruptive software platforms, and provide everything needed to help them grow. Running alongside the canal in Hackney Wick, the 50,000 sq ft campus is perfectly in located one of London’s most important hotspots for the creative industries, offering fast transport links and the vast creative community that east London offers.
Charles Armstrong, Founder & CEO of The Trampery, said:
“Fashion is emerging as one of London’s most important sectors. It thrives on the city’s diversity, creativity and inter-connectedness with the world. With The Trampery Fish Island Village we’re taking the vision to the next level, creating an amazing new campus for fashion innovators. Through Fashion District we’re also part of a much greater endeavour to turbo-charge London’s fashion economy. I hope fashion labels and startups of all kinds will submit applications and join us on this great adventure.”
The campus comprises of 11 buildings over 6 acres, and features high-spec studios, a fully-equipped sampling suite, a co-working facility, a members lounge plus venues for sample sales and catwalk shows. A range of on-site business support and advisory services will be available free of charge to businesses, made possible by funding from the London Legacy Development Corporation. Across the entire site, 25 percent of the studios will be prioritised for people from under-represented communities including ethnic minorities and disabled entrepreneurs.
The project has also received support from the European Regional Development Fund and the Mayor of London, and is a part of the Fashion District. Frances Corner, Chair of Fashion District and Head of London College of Fashion (UAL), said:
“A vital facility within the Fashion District, the studios at The Trampery Fish Island Village are a real opportunity for talented designers to flourish inspired by the creativity of Hackney Wick. Housed within purpose built studios and with access to practical business support, they will have great conditions in which to create their best work and expand their labels. In 2022, London College of Fashion UAL will be just a stone’s throw away as part of the Mayor’s East Bank vision on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Together, this will create a hotbed of fashion innovation that will bring opportunities to learn and work, attracting new businesses, supporting local people and growing our industry.”
The wider Fish Island Village scheme is a unique collaboration between social housing provider Peabody, The Trampery, and top 20 UK housebuilder Hill. Interested high-growth fashion businesses can apply online at: thetrampery.com/fishislandvillage
The London Fashion Fund has opened to receive expressions of interest for investment up to £60,000.
The exciting new project will deliver early stage funding to entrepreneurs working across sectors in fashion. The project brings together different funding streams with the ambitions of making early stage funding easier to access by start-up and spin out businesses.
The London Fashion Fund has an experienced team, working in tandem with the Fashion District as it develops the fashion cluster across East London and beyond. It will be an “intervention” fund, designed to drive entrepreneurship across the fashion industry, addressing the funding gap identified between family funds and traditional VC funds.
The work of the fund team, with its network of angels and investors, is driven by our deep-rooted belief that the right finance at the right time can accelerate growth potential in the early stage fashion businesses we see in London, to advance innovation & growth, enable a greater adoption of technology while building values of social responsibility into the fashion industry.
The fund’s initial aim is to find and fund a portfolio of entrepreneurial fashion ventures in the next 18 months, some unusual, all forward thinking , who will contribute to the resilience & definition of the fashion industry in London and UK as it shapes-up for the future, potentially encompassing design, innovation, technology , making & manufacturing and new retail.
For more information, visit www.londonfashionfund.co.uk or email enquiries@londonfashionfund.com