Since March we’ve been curating The Lab E20’s cultural programme with a focus on sustainability, community and creativity. From summer schools and fashion shows to knitting clubs and panel talks, we’ve hosted a range of exciting events at the expansive Stratford space designed by Christopher Raeburn and owned by Get Living – and we have a lot more planned for the next few months! Read on below to find out some of our event highlights so far and stay tuned to find out what we have coming up for the rest of the year.

Fashion District: Investment Event Series
Our first ever investment series took place over a single day and featured pitching workshops, 1:1 investment clinics with experts, and a Pitcha Kucha Investment Evening where we spotlighted 8 fashion startups and offered them the chance to pitch to a panel of investors and industry experts. The events gave attendees the chance to upgrade their pitching skills, partake in workshops and get business advice and guidance from experts in communication, investment and innovation.

LOANHOOD preview party and pop-up
LOANHOOD kicked off their weekend-long pop-up with a preview party in collaboration with Project ReGo’s exhibition launch (more details below). With over 150 attendees on the night, including designers featured on LOANHOOD’s platform, as well as their members, the event featured an inspiring panel discussion and a DJ to really get the party started. Over the course of the weekend LOANHOOD also organised an upcycling workshop with Saint Muze and a crochet workshop with Crochet Cookey.

Project ReGo Exhibition
Supported by Foundation for Future London and London College of Fashion, ReGo: Our Story in the Making examined how fashion activism can lead to positive social change. Showcased in the exhibition were jewellery, bags, dresses and garments created from repurposed metal from knives received from KnifeSafe – an organisation that aims to reduce knife crime by getting knives off the streets. The items on display were co-created by young people from East London (Newham, Waltham Forest, Hackney and Tower Hamlets) in collaboration with local fashion brands including Michelle-Lowe Holder, FibreLab, The Reclaimery and CQ Studio.

During the course of the exhibition, Michelle-Lowe Holder and The Reclaimery ran several workshops teaching participants practical skills on how to upcycle their wardrobes.

Design Futures 2022 Launch
We celebrated the launch of our innovation challenge Design Futures 2022 at a special evening event in May. The launch night offered attendees the chance to hear from our panel of judges including Craig Smith (PANGAIA), Shajila Dube (Institute of Positive Fashion), Laetitia Forst (Centre for Circular Design), designer Phoebe English, and fashion journalist Sarah Mower, about the challenge. 

Kicking off the event was our keynote speaker Marilyn Martinez from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation who spoke in detail about designing for circularity, followed by the judges who took it in turns to offer advice on applying and shared their thoughts on what they were looking for in terms of submissions, before answering audience questions. Afterwards, guests stuck around to have a drink, feast on canapes and network.  

Anciela ‘El Viaje’ Exhibition
Commissioned by the Colombian ambassador, Mr. Alvaro Gomez Jaramillo, London-based womenswear brand Anciela hosted her first solo exhibition ‘El Viaje.’ Celebrating Colombian folklore, the exhibition explored the relationship between cultural heritage, memories and sustainability. At the launch the Colombian ambassador gave a speech, before an informative talk took place between Jennifer Droguett (ANCIELA) and Liliana Sanguino Ramirez, followed by networking and drinks, with music from DJ Bushbby.

Colèchi’s You Can Knit With Us
Touted as the coolest knitting club in London, You Can Knit With Us, run by fashion research and co-learning agency Colèchi, takes place at The Lab E20 every last Sunday of the month. Having set up the club to democratise fashion and destigmatise knitting culture, YKNWU has invited several knit specialists including Loupy Studio and Restoration London to come along and teach skills to attendees, as well as running a one-off paint party / upcycling workshop with Freaky Upcycle. YKNWU will continue to run on the last Sunday of every month. 

Green Kids Studio
In June, we hosted our very own Green Kids Studio: a sustainable children’s fashion pop-up that ran over an entire weekend. Demonstrating ways that parents and families can engage with sustainable fashion, attendees checked out functional, fun and environmentally friendly products from leading kidswear brands including Bundlee, dotte, VANDALKIDS, Petit Pli, Pip & Henry, Boy Wonder, By Kala x and Zupcycled. Verte London also ran a children’s clothes swap which offered a great opportunity to buy second hand clothing for children and swap out old clothes at the same time. Throughout the weekend we hosted a range of playful activities for little eco warriors to get involved in, including Pip & Henry’s Bug hunt – a unique storytelling activity; workshops by Art Play London, and drop-in craft sessions run by Community Couture. 

SOBOYE Fashion Show 
Renowned for their beautiful, handcrafted clothes which champion the African diaspora, SOBOYE’s fashion show and pop-up showcased their latest collection, Lagos 54. Paying homage to the iconic 70s nightclub Studio 54 and the vibrancy of Nigeria, guests got an exclusive preview of the collection, as well as the chance to purchase the pieces on display and meet the designer behind the brand. Marking SOBOYE’s first solo show, the event, which was in collaboration with The Company at Winchester School of Art, was a tremendous success with around 100 people in attendance.

Fashion District would like to say a huge thank you to all the businesses who have taken part in our programme of events to date, including:

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and keep your eyes peeled for more exciting news on the upcoming programme at The Lab E20.

Waltham Forest Fashion has worked in close collaboration with Fashion District and local design studio, Egg, to create a new brand identity that reflects their unique network of strong sustainable fashion businesses.

From long established businesses that have grown up and worked in the area, to a new wave of local fashion pioneers, there’s a new generation of changemakers on the rise. All share a common entrepreneurial spirit, community driven ethos and a vision to transform the way we produce and consume clothing, and manage its impact – both on society and the environment. With the help of Egg, we’ve created a vibrant and exciting platform to portray that message.  

Egg’s research into the borough’s art and design heritage and conversations with local fashion businesses unearthed a rich and creative story. They listened to a diversity of voices and explored the functional aspect of fashion, it’s creativity, as well as current marketing trends. The result takes inspiration from Waltham Forest’s cultural heritage, the Arts & Crafts Movement, and brings it into a more contemporary space, creating a fusion between history and evolution. 

With an increasing focus on sustainability, Egg also wanted to look at how clothes are made, worn, washed, and looked after long-term and were inspired by the graphic symbols found in our simple everyday washing labels. As they transformed them into a series of repeat patterns they became reminiscent of the floral print designs associated with William Morris and the arts and crafts movement. A combination of the current and the past.

The colour palette is inspired by the diverse people and places of the borough with names linked to well-known locations in Waltham Forest: 

For the main logo, Egg used a combination of fonts fused together mixing decorative with instructive. Acumin, the sans serif font has a balanced, clear and rational quality, and Kaftan Serif, a highly elaborate font full of lovely idiosyncrasies pays tribute to the design heritage of Waltham Forest.

Egg’s design story for Waltham Forest Fashion embodies both the functional and self-expressive side to our fashion community.  There are endless combinations of background colours and graphics to showcase businesses in their very best light. A timeless, flexible identity that can shift, bend and grow side by side with the Waltham Forest Fashion community. We hope you love it as much as we do.

Are you in the fashion and textiles industry in Waltham Forest? Join us to learn about a few incredible resources at your disposal…

The London Borough of Waltham Forest is buzzing with creativity!

A Fashion District hub has been created at Market Parade in Leyton Green, providing co-working spaces for designers and upskilling workshops to the public. Applications are open for the new support programme, Forge Fashion, which will help local fashion and textile businesses via networking events, 1:1s with expert advisors, and a tailored workshop. And last but not least, a Waltham Forest Fashion Instagram @lb.wf.fashion has been launched to promote individuals and businesses in the fashion and textiles industry, and to help nurture a sustainable network and community.

If any of these exciting initiatives are of interest of you, we would like to invite you to join us for a drop in session where you can find out more about how to get involved. There will be time for you to get to know the people leading on each project, and to ask questions. Keep it casual and bring your lunch or a cup of tea.

Once you have booked a free ticket, a Zoom link will be emailed to you on the morning of the event. We hope to meet you soon! For any questions, please contact Sarah.Eschner@walthamforest.gov.uk.

Poplar Works, one of the Fashion District workspaces supported by the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund, was conceived around the simple idea that fashion could again become a major part of East London’s social and economic make-up.

The £6m transformation of 100 disused garages in the Aberfeldy and Teviot neighbourhood will bring a local space to nurture the existing talent and entrepreneurship, by providing affordable workspace and training opportunities, as well as creating a new community facility.

There will be 45 custom-designed, low-cost workshops and studios, a public café and events space to the area, and manufacturing facilities offering enterprise support and training programmes for the creative industries. The project is being delivered by housing association Poplar HARCA, in partnership with London College of Fashion, UAL and social enterprise The Trampery.

Ranging from 100 to 300 square feet, the applications for studio space at Poplar works is now open, will offer an ultra-affordable starting point for emerging fashion-related businesses.

Centre for Fashion Enterprise (CFE) wil provide five free studios for emerging fashion and fashion tech businesses at Poplar Works. The inaugural cohort selected to move in will be LCF alumna Bethany Williams, Rahemur Rahman, Loot Forever, Alex Mullins, Tolu Coker, A Perfect Fit and Not Very Well.

Applications are now open for the next development within the Fashion District: POPLAR WORKS!

Opening in East London in November, it is a proud collaboration between Poplar HARCA, London College of Fashion, UAL and The Trampery. The studios at Poplar Works have been developed for anyone working in the fashion economy – designers, makers, photographers, jewellers and more – and particularly seeking to nurture early stage businesses, and local businesses around Poplar and East London.

There are over forty studios across two sites, training spaces, a small production unit and a café. Studios range from 114 – 298 ft2 and start at £200 a month.

Find out more and apply here.

Deadline: 18th November!

A collaborative project between Waltham Forest Council, the Fashion District, and London College of Fashion, UAL, Waltham Forest will have its first dedicated fashion hub at Arbeit Studios Leyton Green, providing affordable creative workspaces for fashion start-ups and creatives.

Managing over 250 units across 12 sites, Arbeit creates unique spaces for its creative community built up of the fashion, design, arts, music and culture sectors. In each space, Arbeit works with the local community to build spaces most suitable to those already living and working in the area. It seeks to showcase the new voices and talents in the area seeking to set-up their own businesses and help local industry thrive.

Arbeit Studios Leyton Green has 13 studios available for let, with rents starting from £200 a month. It also features event space, and tenants will receive business support and become part of Arbeit’s wider creative community for innovative collaborations and community involvement. 

The space will officially launch in October, but the spaces are available to let now at 778 – 782 High Road, Leyton, E10 6AE. To arrange a tour contact Arbeit or hello@fashion-district.co.uk.

Poplar Works, a new space within the Fashion District, will be a new home for East London’s fashion economy.

The exciting new development on 384 Abbott Road, Poplar, E14 0UX will co-locate workspace, manufacturing and education facilities, and is a partnership between Poplar HARCA, London College of Fashion, UAL and the Trampery.

Centre for Fashion Enterprise (CFE), London’s pioneering fashion and fashion tech business incubator and part of London College of Fashion, UAL, in collaboration with award-winning Poplar HARCA, are opening applications for eight brand new solo and shared studio spaces, which will become available for emerging SME fashion and fashion tech businesses from Autumn 2019.

Over 30% of London’s fashion SMEs are based in East London and over the last 15 years CFE have supported many of them. Building on their expertise, they seek to develop a new model of fashion business support, and curate a community of businesses committed to innovative practices and collaboration at the new studios.

Visit CFE to apply for up to two years studio space, with business support, Up to two years free studio space, business support, business support, executive coaching and more.

Deadline to apply: 28 July 2019, 11.59pm

Thank you to all that have applied to be the residents of the first seven completed fashion studios in the newly built Trampery Fish Island Village, Hackney Wick. Offers have now been made to the first wave of high-growth fashion labels, which we hope to reveal shortly upon acceptance, and we are now delighted to announce registration is open to apply for the second phase of studios due to be completed in April 2019.

Applications for a space in the soon-to-be-completed blocks, B & D, will be welcomed from both fashion and creative businesses. Block B has been designed for larger fashion businesses, with studio sizes ranging from 435 – 2,060 sq/ft. Each studio will have 6m-high ceilings, a shop-front, and its own bathroom facilities. Block D has been designed with smaller fashion and creative businesses in mind, with studio sizes ranging from 150 – 825 sq/ft, 3m-high ceilings, and shared access to kitchen and bathroom facilities.

As well as being Europe’s largest campus for London’s brightest fashion talent, the new studios are centrally located in Hackney Wick & Fish Island, where creative production can be found across a remarkable range of disciplines, making it one of the capital’s most important neighbourhoods for the creative industries. As a social enterprise and creative workspace specialist, the Trampery hopes to bring benefit to the area and support local entrepreneurship by prioritising applications from the HWFI creative community in this round, and reserving Block D exclusively for HWFI businesses.

Register here to be the first to hear when the building is completed, receive the application link, dates for possible site visits and the official submission deadline. Successful businesses can expect to be notified in May, and invited to move into their studios in late June 2019.

To find out more, contact fishislandvillage@thetrampery.com or hello@fashion-district.co.uk
Enquire here: fishislandvillage@thetrampery.com or using the footer at the bottom of this page

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.

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:

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:

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