The Manufacturing Alliance, formed to look at challenges facing designer fashion manufacturers in the UK, has identified the need to create a framework to support growth in this sector that is already in place in France, Italy and highlighted as a need in New York. The Alliance comprising British Fashion Council, Centre for Fashion Enterprise, London Manufacturing Advisory Service, Skillset and UK Fashion & Textile Association has drawn up the framework which will commence by assisting designers to improve communication and work more closely with manufacturers through a series of toolkits launched today: Code of Practice, Garment Specification, Factory Assessment, Resource Guide, Production Schedule, Critical Path, Production Management and Quality control. These tool kits have been created by Alliance partners and are available on NESTA and Alliance Partner websites. NESTA (The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) supports the Alliance project.

Many designers showing at London Fashion Week manufacture their collections in London and production units throughout the UK. Their challenges include achieving high quality garments and products at competitive prices. The Alliance recognises that the toolkits are just a starting point in an initiative that could secure manufacturing and skills here in the UK. It will continue to look at the broader issues facing manufacturers and designers and aims to establish a network that is able to carry forward the NESTA initiative looking at identifying and supporting growth opportunities for both parties.

UK based manufacturers are also being asked to register themselves on a ‘Let’s Make It Here’ database accessed through www.ukft.org to create the first comprehensive searchable manufacturing database here in the UK.

Chairman of the British Fashion Council, Harold Tillman who has spearheaded the Alliance commented “This project has sought to explore how the relationships between designers and smaller manufacturing units can be improved to help both parties capitalise on the growing order books of British designer businesses. The small scale atelier type production units used by designers, most of which are based in London, are vital for our top end designer to sustain and develop sales growth each season.”