The countdown to Manchester Fashion Week has begun with its organisers introducing an “ambitious” public-facing line-up that will mark the city’s decade-long absence from hosting the event.
An “ambitious” three-day (9-11 September), eco-based programme will feature “international sustainability experts, pioneering tech innovators, and breakthrough designers committed to fashion’s circular future”.
Headline speakers include Carry Somers, founder of Fashion Revolution, Safia Minney, founder of Fashion Declares, designer Wayne Hemingway and UN Fashion Sustainability Consultant Lavinia Muth.
It will bring together “fashion elite, including industry pioneers, tech innovators, and emerging designers” to celebrate.
Day one will open with ‘Heritage & Future-Proof’, an industry breakfast hosted by Eco Age, followed by circular fashion discussions, workshops on greenwashing with UN sustainability experts. It concludes with a public book launch at Waterstones for Carry Somers’ ‘The Nature of Fashion’.
Day two features ‘Eco-Systems & Outerwear’ which explores British textile heritage through ‘The Fabric of Britain’ panel and celebrates local talent with the ‘Mancunia Founders Panel’.
Public events also include ‘Future Fashion Fare’ and an evening conversation between Hemingway and guest DJ Paulette.
Day three includes ‘Fashion Tech & Innovation’ which positions Manchester “as a fashion tech leader” with panels featuring innovators from Circkit, Ugenie, Nanoloom, CIFR, and Voxelo, concluding with ‘The Club PreLoved’ runway show for conscious brands.
Additionally, the programme features emerging Northern designers and local brands “putting Manchester on the map for conscious fashion”.
Executive producer of Manchester Fashion Week, Gemma Gratton, said: “This schedule represents Manchester’s DNA – innovative, inclusive, and unafraid to challenge the status quo. We’re not just showing fashion; we’re reshaping how the industry thinks about creativity, community, and consciousness.”
The event is supported by SHIKO, Department Campfield, Innovate UK, Accenture, Turing Innovation Catalyst, The Break Creative and others.
