The Fashion Lab - Young designers given access to high-tech fashion equipment
Hackney Council is joining forces with top names in fashion to help up-and-coming designers access state of the art equipment.
Launching on 14 October, The Fashion Lab will be based at the London Fields shared work-space of social enterprise The Trampery. It will provide graduates and young fashion designers with the opportunity to use the latest professional equipment to develop the skills and collections necessary to forge successful careers in the industry.
The work space will be booked online in two hour slots at an affordable price which will be reinvested back into the Lab for additional equipment, training for designers and other business support.
The space will boast equipment such as industrial quality sewing and overlock machines, a fusing press, ironing stations, pattern cutting tables and other machinery that designers may have struggled to gain access to in the past. The Fashion Lab will also include skilled technicians who will be on-hand to support designers by offering technical support and training.
The Trampery collaborated with the Designer-Manufacturer Innovation Support Centre (DISC) and the Centre for Fashion Enterprise (CFE) to create the Fashion Lab which Hackney Council is match-funding.
Access to advanced design and manufacturing equipment is a real challenge for anyone starting a career in any design led industry, it holds back new talent and new ideas struggle to find the light of day. The Fashion Lab addresses this by providing that access and is a welcome addition to the offer that Hackney has for nurturing innovation and creativity. The collaboration behind the Fashion Lab has been crucial in enabling this project and once again shows how by coming together we can create opportunities for the next generation of small start up businesses in Hackney’s expanding economy.
Charlie May, a young fashion designer who has her studio at the Trampery said: “The fashion lab is a wonderful idea, as a young designer it’s impossible to get your hands on the kind of equipment that you had access to in university, and that you need in order to create to the best of your ability. Now, for the first time, designers like myself will have access to machinery at an affordable price, which is incredibly exciting.”
Charles Armstrong, Founder of The Trampery, said: “The amazing calibre of designers based at The Trampery London Fields is a sign of Hackney’s increasing importance as a focal point for the UK fashion industry. The lack of affordable, flexible access to specialised equipment was a clear barrier for emerging designers. Working with DISC and Hackney Council we’re delighted to address that need with the new Fashion Lab. Our goal now is to raise further support to augment the facilities on offer and provide additional training and mentoring opportunities for upcoming designers.”
Wendy Malem, Director of CFE and DISC said: “London has always been renowned for creativity in fashion. With the Fashion Lab offering emerging designers and makers a creative space to access specialist machinery and technician support, we expect this new facility will drive London forward as the heart of unlocking creativity and supporting fashion designers through technical fashion innovation.”
For more information about The Trampery, please visit the website.
