Wednesday 4 Feb | 18:00 – 20:30
Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX

We’re delighted to announce the launch of our next innovation challenge Manufacturing Futures 2026 at Whitechapel Gallery. Join us for an evening drinks reception to hear about the prizes, learn how to apply, and network with leading figures from London’s fashion, tech, and innovation communities. 

The Launch

To help us launch the challenge, Muchaneta ten Napel, Founder and CEO of Shape Innovate, will host a Meet the Judges session, featuring this year’s expert panel: Adam Mansell, CEO of UKFT; Georgia Parker, Innovation Director at Fashion for Good; Lauren Bartley, Sustainability Innovation Manager at GANNI; Philly Grogan, Sustainability Manager at Nobody’s Child; and Matthew Drinkwater, Head of Fashion Innovation Agency at UAL: London College of Fashion. Together, they’ll discuss the challenges of scaling innovation for both brands and innovators, and what makes a great applicant.

Afterwards, we’ll reveal this year’s challenge brief, where attendees will get the opportunity to learn more about the application process and find out the judge’s criteria for selecting the winners.

Additionally, we will unveil an exclusive showcase featuring emerging designers and brands that recently completed Evo Fashion – a business support programme delivered by Fashion District and Evo Learning, funded by London & Partners as part of the Grow London Early Stage programme. Don’t miss out on the chance to meet the designers and innovators shaking up the future of sustainable fashion.

The evening will conclude with networking, drinks and nibbles.

Agenda:

About The Challenge

Fashion District’s annual Innovation Challenges are designed to address pressing industry issues and support emerging innovations and SMEs. This year, we’re focusing on manufacturing and are seeking technological and sustainable solutions capable of tackling the complex challenges facing fashion manufacturing. This could include anything from:  

We also seek to encourage tech solutions, including those from other sectors, that could be applied to fashion manufacturing and help create interdisciplinary connections between technologists and engineers, and fashion creatives and manufacturers. 

Applicants will be in with the chance to win cash prizes, business support, and the opportunity to pitch to some of the industry’s leading brands and innovators. 

MEET OUR JUDGES

Adam Mansell | CEO, UKFT

Adam is the CEO of UKFT. Having joined the industry 25 years ago, he has worked across a wide number of trade bodies, representing all aspects of the fashion and textile supply chain. Additionally, Adam is Chair of the Future Fashion Factory, Board Member at the University of Leeds’ School of Design Industrial Advisory Board, and Vice President of Ginetex, the international care labelling organisation, as well as holding positions at CAPITB Trust, Textiles 2030 and the Institute for Positive Fashion.

Georgia Parker | Innovation Director, Fashion For Good 

Georgia Parker leads the Validation Team at Fashion for Good, where her team oversees scouting, intelligence, and supply-chain-wide pilots. Their work is focused on addressing industry knowledge gaps and validating the performance and impact of innovations to ensure they are viable for global brands. Georgia and her team specialize in managing the complex, multi-stakeholder workstreams required to prove the potential of sustainable technologies.

Lauren Bartley | Sustainability Innovation Manager, GANNI

Lauren Bartley is Chief Sustainability Officer at contemporary fashion house, GANNI, where she leads the company’s global sustainability and innovation strategy, spanning climate, materials innovation, circularity and social impact. Since 2018, she has been instrumental in embedding sustainability into GANNI’s commercial, creative and operational decision-making, positioning the brand as a leader in responsible fashion.

Philly Grogan | Sustainability Manager, Nobody’s Child

Philly heads up Sustainability at Nobody’s Child, overseeing the London-based label’s delivery on topics including circularity, supply chain, and preferred materials. Originally from a design background, a longstanding curiosity of the impact of materials directs her work and she finds great enjoyment developing solutions to mitigate the industry’s environmental and social impact through innovative, alternative, and regenerative processes. 

Matthew Drinkwater | Head of Fashion Innovation Agency at UAL: London College of Fashion

Matthew is a world-renowned expert in emerging technologies and their application to the creative industries. A specialist in immersive technologies (XR/MR/AR/VR), he and his team are building pathways for a truly digitised world. Named as a ‘fashion-tech trailblazer’ by Draper’s and a ‘pioneer and a visionary’ by Wired, Matthew has delivered ground-breaking experiences and a stunning range of projects that have captured the imagination of both the fashion and technology industries.

GUEST SPEAKER

Muchaneta ten Napel 

Muchaneta is the Founder and CEO of Shape Innovate, working at the intersection of fashion, sustainability and policy to advance climate-smart and socially just value chains. She advises the Munich Fashion Award, has contributed to UNFCCC Global Innovation Projects, and serves as an International Consultant to the International Trade Centre (WTO–UN). She lectures at London College of Fashion and serves on the EIT Culture & Creativity Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (ELSI) board.

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest Fashion District updates, and follow us to keep up-to-date with our events and opportunities: 

Thursday 8 Feb | 18:00 – 20:30
The Ballroom, The Trampery, 239 Old Street, London, EC1V 9EY

We’re delighted to announce the launch of our next innovation challenge Manufacturing Futures 2024, hosted in partnership with The Trampery, a purpose-led enterprise providing workspace, training and management for London’s trailblazing businesses. Join us on 8th February to find out more about next year’s challenge, hear from leading figures in fashion sustainability, and network with London’s fashion, tech and innovation communities.

To help us launch the challenge, we’ll be hearing from Lauren Bartley, Chief Sustainability Officer at GANNI and Jen Keane, CEO of Modern Synthesis, one of our Manufacturing Futures 2021 winners. Lauren will present a keynote on embedding innovative sustainable solutions into a large brand, followed by a discussion with Jen about how the GANNI x Modern Synthesis partnership came about.

Afterwards, we’ll launch next year’s challenge brief, followed by a ‘meet the judges’ panel, where attendees will get the opportunity to learn more about our judges and find out their criteria for selecting the winners. The evening will conclude with networking, drinks and nibbles.

Agenda:

About The Challenge

Fashion District’s annual Innovation Challenges are designed to find solutions to current industry issues, while supporting new innovations and SMEs. Next year, we’re running our second ‘Manufacturing Futures’ challenge, to support technological innovations and sustainable solutions which are solving any of the complex fashion manufacturing challenges facing the industry. This could include anything from:

We also seek to encourage tech solutions, perhaps from other sectors, that could be applied to fashion manufacturing and create interdisciplinary connections between technologists and engineers, and fashion creatives and manufacturers.

Applicants will be in with the chance of winning cash prizes, business support, and the opportunity to pitch to some of the industry’s leading brands and innovators.

MEET OUR JUDGES

Manufacturing Futures 2024 brings together high-profile fashion, technology and sustainability experts committed to supporting the next wave of innovation. Come along to the launch to hear from our esteemed judging panel, including:

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to receive updates about this exciting event!

The Fashion District Festival is making a highly anticipated return for its second iteration at Spitalfields from 11-16 July 2023. 

Taking over the vibrant east London destination, the six-day festival will be a celebration of fashion, sustainability, innovation, and community. Featuring over 40 events, including pop-ups, swap shops, styling masterclasses, upcycling workshops, and interactive experiences, visitors will have the chance to explore, learn, create, and network with leading conscious brands and digital fashion businesses.  

This year’s festival covers four themes — WATCH, SHOP, MAKE, and GROW. 

The Fashion District Festival will kick off on Tuesday 11 July. As part of the WATCH programme, the launch show, curated by Lee Lapthorne from On|Off and AGRO Studio, will introduce some of London’s most promising emerging designers, combining physical and digital installations, to create a truly unforgettable experience. The week will see further digital showcases and styling events from charity partner Give Your Best.

The SHOP series will feature a collaborative retail pop-up located in a brand-new building at Number 1 Lamb St in Spitalfields – the first event to take place in the contemporary building designed by Foster + Partners. Featuring emerging and planet-positive designers and start-ups, the brands on show specialise in preloved, swapped, rented, and upcycled fashion, such as The Alterist, Loanhood, The Cirkel, Verte London, Circular Threads and The Seam.

SHOP events:

The MAKE space offers a diverse program of interactive events and workshops for all ages, encouraging participants to explore sustainability and innovation in fashion via the three Rs: Repair, Reuse, and Recycle.

MAKE talks and workshops:

The GROW programme is dedicated to supporting fashion start-ups and SMEs through a series of roundtables, talks, and workshops that delve into the ideas and innovations driving change within the industry, including themes such as the circular economy, regenerative materials, digital fashion, design for the metaverse, early-stage investment and more. 

GROW talks and workshops:

Jason Dervin, General Estate Manager at The Spitalfields Estate, says, “We are proud to host the ever-inspiring Fashion District Festival and donate four spaces for the events in our newly created units and basement studio space. Celebrating and supporting multiple sustainable start-ups, emerging talent and brands in this dynamic way sits perfectly alongside our existing retail and F&B operators, and we hope to see everyone at the Festival in Spitalfields this July.”Bookings are now open! Don’t miss your chance to secure a spot at each of the incredible events – click here to see the lineup so far. Stay tuned for more event announcements and exciting speakers coming soon!

Bookings are now open! Don’t miss your chance to secure a spot at each of the incredible events – click the button below to see the lineup so far.

Follow our socials to stay tuned for more event announcements and exciting speakers coming soon!

With spring on the horizon, the team at Fashion District can’t wait for longer, lighter days and our upcoming event: Becoming Circular: Revaluing Waste, taking place on March 1st, 18:00 – 20:30, at Hackney Brewery & High Hill Taproom.

Presented in collaboration with the Green Business Network, we’re bringing you a roundtable event like no other. Designed to spark collective action and provide you with the tools to embed circularity in your business, the event will focus on three key approaches to eliminating waste textiles: repair, resale and redistribution. 

Kicking off with a keynote speech from Sarah Robins, Associate Sector Specialist – Textiles at WRAP UK, afterwards Layla Sargent, Founder of The Seam, will take to the floor to deliver a case study presentation focusing on how repair and alterations can contribute to eliminating waste textiles. 

Following Layla’s case study, you’ll then have the chance to share your thoughts in roundtable discussions chaired by over ten carefully curated table hosts. With a selection of tables each categorised under the themes of repair, resale, or redistribution, you’ll have the choice of seating yourself at the theme that you’re most drawn to. Our table hosts will then get the roundtable discussion going and feedback key takeaways to the room.

To round off the evening, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals over a drink or two. Following the event, attendees will also receive an exclusive document of key takeaways from the night. 

AGENDA

MEET OUR SPEAKERS + TABLE HOSTS

Sarah Robins – Associate Sector Specialist – Textiles, WRAP UK
For the past eight years, Sarah has run multiple circular fashion businesses and currently serves as Associate Sector Specialist at WRAP, working on the award-winning voluntary agreement Textiles 2030, which aims to accelerate the UK textile sector on circularity and climate action. In her role, Sarah works on the circular business models workstreams, citizen behaviour change and supporting businesses across the agreement.

Layla Sargent – Founder + CEO, The Seam
Founded in 2019, The Seam brings accessible, on-demand tailoring services to Londoners’ doorsteps while harnessing the skills of talented Makers in every neighbourhood. Recognised as a leading clothing care and repair company, The Seam services customers across the UK and partners with some of the world’s largest retailers and brands.

Tessa Solomons – Craftsperson
Specialising in hand embroidery and visible mending, Tessa Solomons is challenging the culture of overproduction and throw-away trends in the fashion industry by taking private commissions, consulting brands, and teaching workshops. Driven by the desire to make repairs visible, Tessa is on a mission to encourage brands to incorporate repair and reuse into their design process and make it accessible and affordable to all citizens. 

Louise Weiss – Co-Founder, dotte
Louise is the Co-Founder of dotte, the UK’s largest and fastest-growing peer-to-peer marketplace for children’s fashion. dotte is on a mission to build a community of families who want to share their kids’ wardrobes to help better the planet. A simple one-stop-shop where parents can buy, sell, donate and recycle outgrown children’s clothing, dotte provides a full circle remedy to the fastest area of fashion. 

Sia Grenkova – Sustainability Manager, Oxwash
Sia is responsible for setting and developing the sustainability strategy and circular practices at Oxwash – a B Corp Certified and carbon-neutral wet cleaning service. An alumnus of The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s course in Business Sustainability, Sia has previously worked as a consultant for numerous tech startups and large FMCG companies, where she has helped them on their sustainability journeys.

Jessica Brunt – Founder, Verte
With over seven years of experience in marketing and sales, Jess founded her business Verte in 2019 to encourage a more sustainable approach to consumption and shopping. Dedicated to building Verte’s community, Jess has plans to develop her business into a permanent swapping and second-hand space and build an app to encourage a wider variety of items to be swapped. By focusing on swapping versus buying new, Jess hopes to help the world move towards a more circular shopping economy.

Kaela Katz – Founder + CEO, FibreLab
FibreLab is an award-winning textile recycling start-up based in east London. They utilise a custom-built mechanical shredding machine to turn post-industrial textile waste, including off-cuts from garment manufacturing and damaged linens from the hospitality sector, into valuable recycled fibre. FibreLab’s approach to the circular economy is hyper-local, ensuring the entire waste collection, sorting and remanufacturing process takes place entirely within the U.K. 

Sophie Rochester – Founder, Yodomo
Sophie Rochester is an advocate of the power of making and champions Yodomo’s mission to grow participation in making to increase the reuse of materials, helping us all to shift more readily to a circular economy. In 2022, Sophie launched the Yodomo Circular Hub in Hackney, which has over 1,000 active ‘creative reuse members’ and has diverted nearly three tonnes of materials from landfill and incineration.

Sol Escobar – Founder + Director, Give Your Best
Sol Escobar is the Founder and Director of Give Your Best, an award-winning tech-for-good non-profit offering the first platform where people and brands can donate clothing online so that refugee women and children can shop for free with the choice and dignity they deserve. Sol is on a mission to tackle clothing poverty while improving circularity in the fashion industry and empowering people affected by displacement. 

Piarvé Wetshi – Co-Founder, Last Yarn + Colèchi
An advocate for reducing textile waste in the fashion industry, Piarvé co-runs the fashion collective and agency, Colèchi, and the fabric resale platform Last Yarn. Her background is in digital marketing across interior design and events. Piarvé also works with local groups and cultural venues to bridge the gap between fashion, making and education.

Mika Sembongi – Accessory Designer + Mending Expert
Born in Japan, Mika brings Manga influences to her hand printed designs and is highly skilled in the traditional mending technique, sashiko. Mika co-runs The Monday Mending Club, a monthly social sewing night at Big Penny Social, and holds monthly family sewing mornings at Leyton Green Studios, which aim to encourage families to enjoy mending clothing together as a weekend activity.

Judith Agwada – Founder, Maison Archives London
Judith Agwada curates regular vintage drops inspired by the seventies era for her online boutique, Maison Archives London. Maison Archives started out solely as a vintage platform, but has recently expanded to include hand crafted, vintage inspired pieces. Judith also sells vintage and pre-loved pieces at markets and pop-ups in east London – all in addition to her day job, working as a doctor at Whipps Cross hospital!

Samson Soboye – Founder, Soboye
Samson is the founder of Soboye, an African fashion and homewares brand, which offers both ready-to-wear collections and a bespoke design service that serves many celebrity clients, including Michaela Coel, Nile Rogers and John Boyega. Samson has a longstanding relationship with two main factories in Waltham Forest, providing him with expert knowledge on the measures they’re taking (and challenges they’re facing) to eliminate fabric waste in the industry.

Nicola Joseph – Founder, Uniform Choice
Nicola Joseph is an NHS health visitor who also runs pop-ups selling surplus school uniform stock that would otherwise be destined for landfill. Nicola works together with high street brands to sell these unsold uniforms (that are still packaged and in perfect condition) at affordable prices. She sells regularly at Host in Leyton and via ebay.

Gosia Rokicka – Retail + Operations Manager, Forest Recycling Project
Gosia is responsible for everything retail-related at Forest Recycling Project, a registered charity and social enterprise that sells reclaimed paint, fabric and wood and works with volunteers on structured upskilling and upcycling projects.

Anita Earp – Fabric Retail Co-ordinator, Forest Recycling Project
Anita’s role encompasses the reclamation of fabrics from companies or individuals that are looking for an environmentally sound method of fabric disposal. Fabrics are either sold or used in FRP workshops. Anita has an environmental degree and has been a lifelong creator of textile items.

ABOUT THE GREEN BUSINESS NETWORK
The Green Business Network is for businesses from all sectors that are keen to learn how they can improve their environmental performance and cut their business costs, as well as those with an interest or who work in the low carbon or environmental sector. Members include cafes/bars, brewers, fashion designers, renewable energy installers, retailers and freelancers.

In previous events, businesses have heard about the low-carbon transport options for the borough’s businesses (including zero carbon delivery), learnt about finance options for going green and heard from speakers including ReLondon, TSB Bank, Enjoy Waltham Forest and many more.

Keep up-to-date with news and opportunities to support your business by following us on our social channels, or why not sign up to our much-loved monthly newsletter?

Are you a business owner? Want to know more about the impact policy coming into play this year and how this might affect your company?

Join us at our first event of 2023: Fashion Circle – an event series presented by Fashion District and The Trampery for fashion businesses to learn and develop their network. Taking place from 18:00 – 20:30 on Wednesday 22nd Feb at The Trampery Fish Island Village, London’s brand new fashion campus, come and take part in this informative and interactive event that will outline:

This won’t be your average panel talk. Instead, we’ll be offering opportunities for you to brainstorm and workshop with a supportive community of like-minded individuals. You’ll come away from the first Fashion Circle of 2023 with tangible actions for your business, and more peers in the sustainable fashion space to convene and collaborate with in the future.

Welcome – Fashion District + The Trampery
Impact Policy in 2023 + Beyond – Abbie Morris, CEO and Co-Founder at Compare Ethics
Case Study: Impact at PANGAIA – Valentina Okolo, Environmental Manager at PANGAIA
Impact Confessions – Provocations + roundtable discussions
Key Takeaways – Feedback + share your thoughts
Q&A
Networking

Full line-up and agenda to be announced soon! Spaces are limited – RSVP today to avoid disappointment via the button below.

Abbie Morris is the CEO and co-founder of Compare Ethics. With over 12 years working at the intersection of global sustainability policy and business, she is a specialist in ESG and sustainable product communications. Abbie has worked with governments, NGOs and the private sector, as well as working with clients at international organisations such as the United Nations and World Economic Forum. She also led the Confederation of British Industry’s first sustainability working group and circular economy product launch. For the last two years, Abbie has been recognised as one of The Most Influential Women in Tech (UK), won the Stylus Changemakers Award in 2021 and was selected for Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2020.

Valentina Okolo is the Environmental Manager at PANGAIA and has over 7 years’ experience consulting in the sustainability and corporate responsibility sector. She has worked across various industries such as retail, pharmaceuticals, publishing and media and specialises in supply chains, developing and setting sustainability strategies and environmental reporting and compliance for global organisations. Alongside her professional passion for sustainability, she is committed to social mobility and promoting equity and equality for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. She is a volunteer and the former Diversity, Equity and Inclusion trustee of the educational charity the Literacy Pirates.

The Trampery is a purpose-led enterprise dedicated to making business a positive force in society. They provide workspaces, venues, and training in pursuit of their mission.

The Trampery has been delivering dedicated support for the fashion sector since 2015. Initially through its renowned London Fields workspace, and more recently The Trampery Fish Island Village and Poplar Works, which offer a total of 70,000 square feet of dedicated space for start-up and scale-up fashion businesses with a state-of-the-art campus and mix of affordable workspaces, co-working, manufacturing and showcasing facilities.

Learn more at www.thetrampery.com

Stay tuned for updates via our social channels:

We are thrilled to announce that The Textiles Circularity Centre will be taking over The Lab E20 with the launch of The Regenerative Fashion Hub! 

What?
The Regenerative Fashion Hub is a 6-week exhibition showcase documenting the journey of biowaste –  from source of waste to the consumption of apparel. Featuring research studies, seminars, and ‘open house’ sessions, the event breaks down academic research into sustainable textiles in a creative, accessible way to open up conversations with the public, industry, NGOs, and the government.

Who? 
The UKRI Interdisciplinary Textiles Circularity Centre (TCC) – funded by the UK Research & Innovation National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research programme – is undertaking fundamental research into a circular textiles economy for the UK fashion industry. It is an academic consortium led by the Royal College of Art  and includes Cranfield University, University of Cambridge, University of Leeds, University of Manchester, University College London, and University of York. 

Why?
Research in the TCC will help them propose an alternative model for apparel-fashion that will reduce the consumption of materials resources and associated pollution, and grow wellbeing. The Regenerative Fashion Hub is a chance to engage with the public about their research and findings. 

Where?
The showcase will be open to visitors to experience the journey of the biowaste resource flow and talk to the research team. There is no need to book, just turn up.

Opening times:

Location: The Lab E20, 3-4 East Park Walk, East Village, London, E20 1JB

If you’re passionate about sustainable textiles, then don’t miss out on this landmark showcase! For more information about the hub, head to the link below.

Follow our social channels or sign up to our newsletter for news, events and opportunities around sustainable fashion, business support and fashion tech.

Green Business Network: The Circular Economy
2nd November 2022 | 6pm-9pm
Orford House 73 Orford Road, London, E17 9QR

The Fashion District is delighted to announce that we have teamed up with the London Borough of Waltham Forest’s Green Business Network and Waltham Forest Fashion to host a free evening event on November 2nd, exploring conversations around the circular economy. 

If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur, join us to learn more about circularity and how it can benefit your business while also helping to tackle global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. 

Arranged in partnership with The Green Business Network – who provide opportunities for businesses to learn how they can improve their environmental performance – the evening will feature a series of presentations from guest speakers, roundtable discussions, and a drinks reception.

Check out our keynote speaker, Connor Hill, chatting through the details:

Guest speaker Connor Hill, founder of Inspire Circular, will present a keynote speech on the night. Connor has spent over ten years developing and delivering circular strategies at Adidas, John Lewis, and M&S. His pioneering projects include FUTURECRAFT.LOOP, the first fully circular trainer, and John Lewis BuyBack which helped inspire thousands of customers to combat clothing waste. Today, he advises brands and individuals on how they can accelerate their journeys toward circularity. Connor is currently the Programme Lead at the University of Cambridge for the Circular and Sustainability Strategies Executive Leadership Course. 

Additionally, Carrie Davies, founder of One Essentials, will give a presentation about how she implements circularity in her business. One Essentials has become renowned for producing classic basics using only premium recycled, organic and non-toxic fabric and biodegradable elastic, all manufactured in ethical factories. Every item is designed with the end of life in mind with 1% of each sale donated to the Or Foundation.

The full agenda for the evening is as follows:

6.00pm: Arrival & drinks/nibbles available
6.30pm: Introduction and welcome
6.35pm: Keynote speech by Connor Hill from Inspire Circular
6.50pm: Presentation by Carrie Davies from One Essentials 
7.00pm: Q&A
7.15pm: Introduce provocations and kick-off roundtable discussion 
7.20pm: Roundtable Discussion 
8.00pm: Summarise and Wrap Up 
Drinks and networking

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT: Key takeaways and actions from the evening will be summarised in a one-page digital resource that will be sent to all attendees after the event. Don’t miss out!

Keep up-to-date with news and opportunities to support your business by following us on our social channels, or why not sign up to our much-loved monthly newsletter?

Are you a maker with textile skills? Here’s your chance to develop your practice and produce a new work alongside internationally acclaimed artist, Lucy Orta.

Traces: Stories of Migration is a community art project exploring migration stories across East London, delivered in collaboration with Making for Change. Now, they’re looking for 25 textile practitioners to share stories, exchange craft skills and create textile artworks that will be showcased at several exhibitions from June 2023. The project draws from the migrant history of the East End Rag Trade to build on the sustainable fashion and textile practices burgeoning in the East End.

What you will do
Taking place at The Lab E20 every Wednesday from 9 November to 14 December, 6pm-8pm, the weekly workshops will be an inclusive, welcoming space to share personal stories and memories, learn new craft skills, and make textile artworks. Read on to find out what the workshops will entail. 

Sharing Stories
Traces involves sharing family migration stories. You will have the chance to listen to members of the group tell their stories, and you can share yours if you want to. To help with this, you might like to bring a personal keepsake with you. A keepsake is a personal object that helps you remember your story. 

Story Cloths
During the workshops, you will turn your story into textile artwork called Story Cloths. The resulting artworks will convey the memories, histories, and heritage of communities living in East London. Artist and project lead Lucy Orta and the team will be on hand at all times to support you. 

You will tell your story and create your Story Cloth using artistic processes and techniques including mind mapping, moodboards, block printing, stencil printing, embroidery, and appliqué. You will have the opportunity to develop existing skills or learn new practices to best represent your story.

Finissage
Participants in the Traces project will be invited to a showcase on Thursday 15 December. This will give everyone the chance to share the work they’ve created, as well as the story that informed it. Lucy Orta will also present some of the work she has created in response to the stories and participants that have engaged with the project.

Where your work could be exhibited
The work made in the workshops will be displayed in public exhibitions at Nunnery Gallery, Bow; Fashion District Festival, Stratford, and London College of Fashion’s new gallery at East Bank next year. 

What we’re after 
If you’re an artist, textile practitioner, or a maker with textile skills and have first, second or third generation migrants with connections to East London, then the team would love to hear from you! 

What to send
The simple application form will ask you to write about yourself and your eligibility for the programme. For example, tell us about your relationship to east London; what textile skills can you bring to the workshop; and what would it mean to you to take part in the project?

When to send it 
Applications close on Friday 28 October. All applicants will be contacted on Wednesday 2 November.

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date with the latest news and opportunities from Fashion District.

Are you looking for a fun way to introduce your kids to sustainability? Well, look no further! Bring your little eco warriors along to The Lab E20 on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th June for FREE storytelling, puppet making and craft activities.

At the Green Kids Studio, not only will we be showcasing environmentally friendly products from leading kidswear brands, we’ll also be hosting a range of playful activities for your little eco warriors to get involved in throughout the weekend. Come along and have some fun at the following:

🐛 Pip & Henry’s Bug Hunt – Storytelling Activity (under 6 y/o)
Pip & Henry are scouting around their home, looking for the Naughty Bug that’s making everyone sick! Along the way they meet many other friendly bugs and creatures that reassure them that not all bugs are scary, how some bugs actually help the planet, and advise them on what to do next to stay safe. Can Pip & Henry send the Naughty Bug away and stop him coming back? 

🎨 Art Play London (under 12 y/o)
Art Play London is a creative space in London for children and adults to set their imaginations free with a strong focus on the environment and sustainable materials.

Throughout the weekend they’ll be running workshops that will help kids understand environmental concerns through art, including Eco Warriors Art and Craft that will offer children the chance to use recycled resources to create a piece of artwork to take home, as well as helping to create a collaborative mosaic using recycled materials.

In The Naughty Bug Puppet Theatre, children will also be able to make naughty bug puppets out of recycled materials and then stage their own miniature plays in a handmade theatre, made of abandoned and repurposed wood. 

🖍️ Community Couture (all ages)
Community Couture combines bespoke slow fashion principles with traditions of storytelling through textiles.

Their drop-in craft sessions will give young people the opportunity to reflect on the issues facing the world and the role that they can play in it, by encouraging them to get creative through illustration and collage. There will be a big cardboard canvas for you to fill with shapes and pictures that show us how to help the planet.

These unique artworks will then be translated into textile weaves and made into a piece of children’s clothing that will later be available to rent. 

Drop-in anytime over the weekend! No booking necessary.

Mark it down in your diaries because this is a pop-up you do not want to miss! We can’t wait to see you there!

Keep your eyes peeled on our social channels for more upcoming brand and activity announcements in the coming weeks! We can’t wait to see you there.

We’re delighted to announce that we will be curating a sustainable children’s pop-up at The Lab E20 from the 25th – 26th June.

Our very own Green Kids Studio will demonstrate ways that parents and families can engage with sustainable fashion. Come along and check out functional, fun and environmentally friendly products from leading kidswear brands and meet the lovely, passionate people behind the designs.

Looking for playful activities for your little eco warrior? Storytelling sessions and art play workshops will also be offered throughout the weekend and Community Couture will be hosting drop-in craft sessions.

For anyone looking for a sustainable solution to their children’s outgrown clothing, visit our clothes swap with Verte Mini on Sunday 26 June, 10AM – 1PM! Bring along up to 15 items of boys or girls clothes (up to 12 y/o). Focus on quality rather than quantity – anything you’d be happy to take home or for your kids to continue wearing should it fit them. If you don’t have anything to swap, this is a great opportunity to buy second hand clothing for your children.

Feeling extra organised? Drop off your children’s clothes on Saturday 25 June and we’ll get them prepped for the swap on Sunday.

Spread across an entire weekend, the Green Kids Studio will feature a carefully curated selection of sustainable children’s brands, including:

Bundlee
Bundlee is the UK’s first rental service for baby clothes. A great way to get amazing quality clothes at a fraction of the price – you can rent from some of our favourite brands including MORI, Mini Rodini, Patagonia and more. With sustainability at the core, Bundlee want to provide a better alternative for parents. Clothes that are returned are professionally cleaned and sanitised before being shared with the next renting family.

dotte
dotte is more than a marketplace – they are a movement that won’t accept style at the cost of the planet. They’re opening up thousands of children’s wardrobes with their family-to-family marketplace; a simple one-stop-shop where parents can buy, sell, donate and recycle outgrown children’s clothing. A full circle remedy to the fastest area of fashion, dotte go beyond peer-to-peer buying and selling by offering their community donation and recycling options too.

The team at dotte believe that together we can slow fashion down, make every stitch count, and love every fibre of the fabric. And with their curated edits, style discovery and resale collective (featuring perks and discounts on some of your favourite kidswear brands), they make shopping secondhand feel like new. dotte invite you all to join them on the journey.

VANDALKIDS
VANDALKIDS is a new brand of kidswear offering high quality practical and comfortable gear for children aged 3 to 10 without compromising on style. Created by ex-brand director and mother Kat Vandal, VANDALKIDS has been designed to encourage kids’ creativity and self-expression whilst incorporating parent-friendly features to help the clothes last and reduce their impact on the planet.

Petit Pli
Made up of a team of engineers, scientists and designers, Petit Pli makes products that help people – and the planet. Their clothing philosophy: They invent clothes that grow. These items fit for years, not months. Petit Pli garments are beautiful and innovative, using the highest-quality materials, construction and best- in-class ethical supply chains.

Pip & Henry
Pip and Henry make beautifully designed, vibrant shoes for children, with the environment in mind – using recycled materials and plant-based fibres. 

Verte London
Verte is a London founded, clothes swapping company, who exist to help people update their wardrobe without having a negative impact on the planet. Now they want to try and combat both of these things and extend the lifespan of children’s clothing, by hosting a clothes swap for children.

Sunday 26 June | 10:00 – 13:00
REGISTER TODAY!

Boy Wonder
Boy Wonder is a boy’s fashion brand that is playful and positive. With organic cotton and chemical-free prints parents can feel happy knowing they are safe and earth-friendly. Boy Wonder garments are made ethically with love in Britain giving them a super low fashion footprint. 

By Kala x
By Kala X was created to bring a love of African print material to a wider audience. From eye-catching designs to bold and beautiful colours, guaranteed to make your little one stand out, all items are handmade by mum-of-two Kala.

ZUPCYCLED
Zupcycled aims to inspire people and brands about upcycling, reusing, reclaiming and repurposing, to help save the planet for our kids. Their materials are collected from brand collaboration projects and leftovers saved from textile factories. Zupcycled offers upcycling art and craft kits that provide an eco-friendly and sustainable activity for rainy weekends, school breaks, birthday parties or corporate events.

Activities for children will also run throughout the weekend, including Pip & Henry’s Bug hunt – a unique storytelling activity featuring a very Naughty Bug that’s making everyone sick! Alongside this, Art Play London will be offering workshops for little ones, and Community Couture will be running drop-in craft-sessions on both days, offering children the chance to get creative and take something home. 

Learn more about our activities and book your place here!

Keep your eyes peeled on our social channels for more upcoming brand and activity announcements in the coming weeks! We can’t wait to see you there.