The inaugural Source Fashion Show closed its doors today celebrating a highly successful and impactful event bringing together a global array of Sedex audited manufacturers and leading retailers including All Saints, Asos, Bella Freud,FILA, Fred Perry, John Lewis, Matalan, Monsoon, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Stitch Fix, Tesco, Urban Outfitters, Very group and many more.
Exhibitors from over 20 countries from Peru to Cambodia, Pakistan to Portugal, Hong Kong to Italy and Greece all the way back to the UK, plus industrial powerhouses like China, India and Turkey united at Olympia London from 12-14th February
Ines Qin from Lilla Accessories commented, “This is my first time exhibiting in the UK, it’s been amazing, people are friendly and I’m learning a lot about the market. The show has been incredibly inspiring, in China, we have great quality products but some of our designs are very modest and simple, so it’s been good to see what other people are doing. On the first day, we had a lot of visitors, there was a good variety of e-commerce and wholesale buyers and we have made fantastic connections.”
Mehmet Peker from Aksem said, “This is our first time exhibiting in the UK and it has exceeded our expectations. We wanted to create brand awareness for our product in the UK and see what the market was like, but we’ve also managed to collect promising contacts. The main point I like about the show is that people come and know what they are here for. It’s not an unskilled crowd and visitors come with intention of doing business.”
Rahul Gokani from Amplebox commented, “There’s been a good mix of buyers, we’ve been approached by small and big brands. Being UK manufacturers draws people to our stand, it makes communication and understanding so much easier. We’re more accessible to them and we understand what they want – if they tell us they’re looking for an Essentials style hoodie, we can deliver because we know UK fashion culture.”
Haydn Taylor from Shirley/Oeko-Tex commented, “There have been some great, quality buyers – we’ve had start-ups visit us, and people who are familiar with what we do, so it’s good to know that people are thinking about sustainability right from the beginning. At Source Fashion we can showcase everything as we are seeing visitors from all corners of the industry.”
Wang Xin Vice President from Nantong Wang and Sheng Textile said, “We had 20 new customers yesterday at Source Fashion. We produce menswear, womenswear and we also produce fabric; we have our online system so we can help customers with our designs, they give us inspiration and we can make a 3D show for them which everyone is responding to We will definitely be back at Source Fashion.”
The Source Stage captured visitors’ attention with a seminar programme packed with informative talks from internationally renowned designers, professionals, and experts from across the industry. The closing day saw a panel discussion from the Boohoo Group to address collaboration within their 13 brands and across the wider industry, with Lianne Pemberton, Head of Sustainability; Hannah Williamson, Head of Quality and Product Compliance; Samuel Cliff, Group Head of Ethical Trading; Sophie Rycroft, Group Head of Sourcing; and Laura Callcut, Head of Wholesale, moderated by independent consultant Cheryl Chung.
Lianne said, “It’s important to say that we’ve never claimed to be a sustainable business. I don’t think any fashion brand can say they’re truly sustainable. I think what we’re trying to do is invest in our future and to us this looks like longevity and sustainability. For us that’s about addressing where we can make change and including our pledge to reduce our textile waste to, no waste to landfill by 2025 in the UK.”
Sophie explained, “Collaboration in the Boohoo group means several things. It’s important that we communicate everything that we’re doing to our internal teams and externally to our amazing global supply base. Our suppliers have face to face interaction with our teams, we educate our suppliers on our expectations, all of the work we’re doing, and in turn they communicate any hurdles they need more support with.
Hannah said, “Let’s not forget when we talk about suppliers, we’re talking about people. We’ve got a huge sourcing mix, different territories all around the world, different products, different manufacturing setups as well. Collaboration is without a doubt 100% vital in the success of driving quality within any business.”
Sophie said, “It is about taking a step back and thinking before we buy anything – Is it going to the right supplier? Is it going to the right factory? Are we paying the right cost? Are we happy with the quality? Are we buying more sustainable fabrics? We work really closely with our suppliers and I think they fully understand our expectations. And also, as a business, we’ve never had a group core function, the 13 brands worked really separately, now we encourage integration and working together.”
Also on The Source Fashion stage, Debbie Luffman, Director at Think Circular, moderated a session with Matt Hanrahan, Co-Founder of Reskinned, Tatiana Wolter-Ferguson, Co-Founder and CEO at Hewi, and Yasmin Topi, Co-Founder and CEO at Sociate AI. The session explored shifting consumer patterns, the rise in resale and how to integrate reCommerce into existing business models. Debbie opened the discussion, “The fashion industry is a fantastic vehicle for expression, individuality, and creativity. The fashion economy has a net worth of $3 Trillion, it employs 3.3 million, but we can’t ignore that it is incredibly wasteful. We have about five times more ‘stuff’ in our wardrobes now than our grandparents did – and we’re keeping them for half as long. So, how does resale and reCommerce unlock opportunities?”
“£80 million worth of clothing lives in the back of the UK’s wardrobe. The ecosystem for resale and preloved is different for everyone. People buying peer to peer, the likes of Ebay, Vinted and Depop are growing hugely but there are limitations. Can you try on? Can you return? At Reskinned our focus is enabling circular solutions for brands, not only in resale and reCommerce, but also fibre-to-fibre recycling. Our aim is to put end of life garments back into the supply chain.” says Matt. “It’s also interesting to talk about why you should be doing this. Conscious consumption is massively on the rise. People are looking for natural fibres, customers are increasingly looking for honesty. They can see the green washing a mile off now, it must be authentic.”
The Salvation Army’s Trading Company, SATCoL, alongside Michelina Filocco from F&F Clothing discussed nationwide reuse and repurposing schemes. Charlene Bent from the Salvation Army said, “It’s estimated that 300,000 tonnes of textiles go to household bins, it’s the UK’s fastest-growing household waste stream. We are trying to find solutions whereby these materials can be repurposed or reused. By reusing and repurposing these donated textiles, we greatly reduce the amount we send to disposal, creating an efficient way to combat climate change.
Across all three days the Source Catwalk Show delighted and inspired visitors with its exciting use of innovative materials, new textiles and trend driven designs by fashion designer Eirinn Hayhow and manufacturers showcasing at Source Fashion plus the work of Fashion students from a Redesigning Fashion collaboration with the Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL) and Winchester School of Arts.
Looking ahead to SS24 Gwyneth Holland, Futures Strategist at BDA London gave Source visitors insight into Protopia, Trend-hub’s unifying thread for their SS24 Trend Forecast. “Protopia is born from the idea that we ultimately see the future as proactive thinking, not just a blind hope; but thinking of a realistic engagement with what the future looks like, thinking about the changes that need to be made in order to benefit humanity and the earth considering sustainability and equality in a much more nuanced way; and ultimately to recognise that the way that we look at the future shapes the future. Our destination is neither utopia nor dystopia, nor status quo, Protopia is a state that is better today than yesterday.” Says Gwyneth, “It’s about engaging with small changes in your business, in your everyday life to make a better future.”
Colours go deeper in Protopia, palettes of joyful brights, sun-baked tones and earthen shades set the scene across heightened craft and detail where tech melds with artisanship. Classics get reworked, resort pieces get a playful update with motifs coming through heavily; neutrals become the new monochrome with tonal shades of greens, terracotta’s and ecru taking centre stage. Elsewhere heritage patterns come through and knitwear carries into summer with colourful crochet and weaving. Pieces are embedded in consumers flair for self-expression and the thirst for escapism and experimentation; whilst new nature and tech-fuelled sustainability carry through the entire trend.
Suzanne Ellingham, Director of Sourcing of Source Fashion says, “What an incredible reaction we have had at the launch Source Fashion! There’s a huge variety of beautiful fashion, textiles, products and even product solutions on the show floor. We’ve met people from all around the world with incredible stories who are leading change in the industry and given them a platform to network, make connections and share and sell their products. Our aim was to help buyers and sourcing professionals to buy better, and connect them to responsible suppliers, and I feel proud to say that’s exactly what we have done. We’re already looking forward to July and the growth of next season of Source Fashion.”
(Photo by Monika Schaible/Fabuk Magazine)
Source Fashion returns to Olympia London on 16th-18th July 2023. Visit www.source-fashion.com for more information.