Yahoo Finance London Fashion Roars Ahead With East London Festival
FASHION POINTS EASTWARD: London Fashion Week may have wrapped on Tuesday night, but the show goes on — at least in East London — where a multipronged festival is taking place until Sept. 26. The Fashion District Fashion Festival is a five-day event for trade and consumers alike, embracing retail, business, tech and innovation.
Fashion District is a local organization supporting fashion businesses in five boroughs in the east and north of London. Among the supporters are the University of the Arts London, Westfield Stratford and The British Fashion Council.
More from WWD
Organizers said the aim is to support start-ups and emerging talent with retail pop-ups, learning opportunities and networking, and to showcase the East London area of Stratford as a hub for fashion and innovation. Fashion District is also looking to breathe fresh life into East London’s fashion and craft heritage by supporting tech businesses in the area.
Events include how to reduce, reuse and recycle wardrobe items with advice from companies such as By Rotation, Reture and Save Your Wardrobe. Lessons in upcycling and recycling clothing and jewelry are also on offer with Design Blender, as well as crochet workshops (crochet is emerging as a big trend in the spring 2022 season) and a special event inspired by The Arpilleras, who create traditional embroidered and quilted patchwork from Latin America.
There will also be a show of spring 2022 collections by some of the On|Off London Fashion Week designers and a performance choreographed by Kwame Asafo-Adjei to accompany it. The festival is also hosting investor pitches.
According to organizers, pre-seed and seed start-ups will have the chance to pitch directly to 20 venture capital companies and investors, with a particular focus on innovation and sustainability. There will also be talks about how to promote a diverse future for fashion with speakers including Tosin Adeosun, founder of African Style Archive, and assistant curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Best of WWD
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
