Meet the Manufacturer, the sourcing event organised by Make it British, has announced a partnership with the Leicestershire Textiles Hub, to help drive awareness of the work that the Hub is doing to support the region’s textile manufacturers.

The collaboration will include a jointly hosted fashion show on the first day of the Meet the Manufacturer trade show and conference that will be held from 3-4 June 2015 at Tobacco Dock in London. 

Top TV fashion and celebrity stylist, Zoe Lem, who is from Leicestershire herself, will be styling a selection of clothing and accessories made in the county, to showcase the best of Leicestershire manufacturing.

Quailty and diversity

“We’re very excited about the partnership with the Leicestershire Textiles Hub.  Their philosophy mirrors ours - to reinvigorate the textiles industry and provide information, inspiration and innovation around British manufacturing,” commented Kate Hills, founder and CEO of Make it British, which organises the event.

“As the trend of re-shoring gains momentum, we’re confident that this fashion show will bring to life the quality and diversity of manufacturing in Leicestershire and prove an informative experience for buyers.”

UK manufacturing centre

Since its launch in September 2014, the Leicestershire Textiles Hub has been offering support and information to textile manufacturers in the area to help their businesses to flourish. 

Abdul Bathin, Leicestershire Textiles Hub’s Programme Manager, explained: “The Leicestershire region has always been a traditional centre for knitwear, hosiery and footwear – much of the infrastructure is still there and now is the time to write the next chapter in the history of Leicestershire textiles and inspire a new generation to take the county to where it belongs.”

“Leicestershire is an important UK manufacturing centre and the textiles industry is showing encouraging signs of growth, but it’s not without its challenges. This is a great opportunity to showcase the manufacturing capabilities in the region to key buyers and designers from all over the UK.”

Central location

According to the ONS business register and employment survey 2013, Leicester and Leicestershire has one of the highest levels of textiles employment in the UK with over 10,000 people involved in textile manufacturing and more than 400 companies responsible for 20% of the UK’s clothing manufacturing.

Adds Bhavik Master, of Jack Masters, a family-run knitwear manufacturer based in Leicestershire, who will be exhibiting at the Meet the Manufacturer event, believes that the central London location of Meet the Manufacturer gives manufacturers the exposure to meet with all the key buyers. 

“It’s a chance to network with other manufacturers too, to form collaborations and leverage different business opportunities that you wouldn’t otherwise have,” he added. “As a result of attending last year’s event we've opened some new wholesale accounts and business is growing.  We’re big supporters of the new Leicestershire Textiles Hub too.  It’s good for the local industry because we’ve got common goals with lots of businesses in similar situations. Hopefully the outcome will be a stronger collaborative offering from Leicestershire.”

www.meetthemanufacturer.co.uk