Meet The Manufacturer is an annual trade show celebrating the creativity of more than 100 UK textiles businesses – including a stylish display on the catwalk featuring items made right here on our doorstep. Gemma Peplow reports…

It’s 5.30pm at the Tobacco Dock, a grade I-listed warehouse building in East London, and models are walking a catwalk to appreciative murmurs and camera phone-snapping from an attentive, well-dressed audience. From the second row (I just missed the front, dammit), there’s a clear view of the expensive-looking outfits on display, from metallic silver leggings to silky, printed smart joggers, to leather satchels and thick, luxurious knitwear.

Some of the items are pieces you would find on the high street, others belong on the designer rails of boutiques in Bond Street.

All the pieces have one thing in common: they were made 100 miles away, in Leicestershire.

This is Meet The Manufacturer, an annual trade show organised by Make It British, to celebrate the creativity of more than 100 homegrown textiles businesses across the UK. The fashion show, though – that’s all Leicestershire.

Organised by the Leicestershire Textiles Hub, it’s taking place for the first time as part of the trade show and features the work of 21 businesses, all based here in the city and county.

It’s an eye-opener, discovering these beautiful clothes – many of which could easily be transferred to the catwalks of London, Paris or New York fashion weeks – aren’t made in little boutique fashion houses in glamorous locations, but in warehouses, right here on our doorstep.

Laura Glover, is production manager at Djinn, in Frog Island, which makes high end womenswear, menswear and childrenswear for top designer brands.

“Designers will come to us with a design and we can make their samples,” she says.

Unfortunately, she adds, she can’t tell us who those designers might be.

“It’s the luxury, high end of the market, I can say that. The designers you would see on the big catwalks, like London Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week. We have seen our pieces there, which is really exciting.

“It’s great for our machinists, to see the work they’ve created on the catwalk. When I was at uni, doing fashion studies, these were some of the designers I looked up to.

“We manufacture for some very established brands. To think that all happens in a little factory in Leicester – it’s brilliant.”

Djinn, which employs 25 staff, has been open since 1989. But, like many of the other fashion manufacturers here at the event, you’ve probably never heard of it. It’s the designers who use its services (the ones we can’t name) that you’ll know.

This is why Meet The Manufacturer and, in particular, the Leicestershire fashion show, is so important for the businesses involved.

It’s a chance to get their names out there, and to celebrate the resurgence of the UK textiles industry, especially here in Leicester.

“It’s an amazing thing to promote the work that goes on in Leicester,” says Laura. “I don’t think many designers or businesses would necessarily consider coming to Leicester for their manufacturing, but it has so much to offer.

“Events like this help to build Leicester’s reputation.”

Other brands being shown on the Leicestershire Textiles Hub catwalk include Venus Cow, Zatchels, Pantherella, So-Mes Creation, Zero One Nine and Insanity Clothing.

Insanity Clothing, based in Highfields, specialises in leggings and swimwear for women, and employs 12 people.

Most people, says director Mairaj Khan, assume items like this are made in the Far East.

“When people look at these products, that’s probably what they think,” he says. “But we can proudly say we’re from Leicester.

“The textiles industry is coming back in Leicester, definitely. Compared with a couple of years ago, we’re a lot busier than we were.

“People love the fact it’s all made in UK.

“It’s lovely to be here and see so many different products and bump into people who say, ‘yes, I’m from Leicester as well’. It’s amazing to seeing designs that you’ve made in a fashion show like this, put together with other things.”

Insanity Clothing has its own brand and retail website, but also supplies to independent retails, too.

“We used to have a shop in the city centre – on Cank Street and then it moved to Silver Street – but the wholesale and manufacturing side of the business was growing more. Exhibitions are good for us and fashion shows are really exciting, because it’s a chance to promote our brand and what we stand for.”

Zero One Nine, previously The Sweater Shop, makes everything from T-shirts to heavy knitwear.

“We supply Wolsey, which is another Leicester firm,” says development director Alan Hodges. “And Gloverall and Shackleton as well.

“We also export to Japan, Korea, Dubai and America.

“I think it’s great, seeing the whole ethos of British manufacturing all together, singing off one hymn sheet.”

Leicestershire’s textiles industry was once booming, with one of its great success stories being Nathaniel Corah Sons Ltd, established in the early 1800s.

At its height in the 1960s, Corah was one of the largest knitwear producers in Europe and employed some 6,500 workers.

But, recessions in the 1970s and 1980s, together with the loss of a major Marks Spencers contract, saw the company closing its doors.

Many other notable Leicestershire names, including Symington’s, Pick’s, Atkins of Hinckley and Cherub, all suffered the same fate.

But the industry is picking up once again.

“We can respond within days or weeks, whereas companies have to place orders in the Far East months in advance,” says Alan. “We’re trying to bring back to Leicestershire some of the skills that have been lost: knitting skills, machinist skills, technical skills.”

Bhavik Patel, one of the directors of Jack Masters, a knitwear company based in Aylestone, says customers appreciate the craftmanship that goes into quality, made in Britain products.

“It’s an aspirational thing. It doesn’t have that perception of mass-manufacturing or cheap clothing. People are caring more and more about that. I think people like the idea; they know it’s ethical and they know they’re supporting local businesses.”

Abdul Bathin, programme manager for the Leicestershire Textiles Hub, says he is proud to help highlight the work that is going on here.

“It’s a good thing,” he says, “especially for young people, to attract new skills into the industry.”

www.leicestershiretextileshub.co.uk

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