Source Fashion, Fashion-Enter Ltd and the Association of Textiles Manufacturers and Fashion (ATMF) will bring the industry together in Manchester on Wednesday 4 November for a day of practical discussion focused on one crucial question: What will it take to make UK production work commercially for more brands and retailers?
Taking place at Manchester Hall, Manchester Made & Regions will bring together manufacturers, brands, retailers, sourcing professionals and industry leaders to examine the opportunities and challenges facing British fashion and textile manufacturing, from reindustrialisation and public procurement to pricing, capacity, skills, changing consumer expectations and the commercial realities of sourcing closer to home.
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The programme will also explore what needs to change to enable more business to be placed with UK factories and where domestic production can deliver genuine value through speed, flexibility, quality, resilience, sustainability and closer supplier relationships.
Opening the day, What Will It Take? Reindustrialisation of the UK will tackle one of the biggest questions facing the sector: what needs to change for ambitions around onshoring and public procurement to translate into meaningful orders for British factories? Moderated by Jenny Holloway, CEO of Fashion-Enter, the panel will bring together Snahal Patel, CEO of 23 Foxes, Cheryl Chung of The Garment Workers Trust and Professor Jess Power, Chair of The Textile Institute, to examine the conditions needed to support a stronger domestic manufacturing base, the importance of a unified industry voice and how government, brands and retailers can help turn ambition into action.
This will be followed by a fireside conversation with Patrick Grant, CEO of Community Clothing, which will explore the commercial realities of domestic production, challenging the perception that it is impossible to build a profitable British brand at a price point consumers are willing to pay.
Other panels will look at how local ecosystems can be visible and thrive and compete through speed, flexibility, quality and closer customer relationships rather than cost alone.
Just Style’s senior news editor, Isatou Ndure, will lead a panel of British manufacturers and sourcing experts including Michael Conway, CEO of CLOTHES2ORDER, Sajid Esa, Director of 5th Avenue Clothing, and Simon Platts, Founder of Simon Platts Consulting and former Sourcing and ESG Director at ASOS, that will address the commercial pressures facing domestic production, from rising costs and tighter margins to minimum order quantities, lead times and long-term supplier viability.
The afternoon programme will place the UK manufacturing opportunity within a wider European context. Marguerite Le Rolland, Global Insight Manager, Fashion at Euromonitor International, will present Fewer, Better, Closer: What’s Driving Fashion Demand in Europe in 2026, drawing on the latest market data and consumer research to examine the forces reshaping fashion demand.
As consumer expectations continue to evolve, Jack Stratten, Head of Trends at Insider Trends, will explore the growing commercial value of quality, trust and products designed to last. Looking beyond short-term fashion cycles, the session will examine how younger consumers, technology and changing perceptions of luxury are encouraging brands and retailers to reconsider the role of durability and longevity in their product strategies.
Source Fashion’s Suzanne Ellingham will lead a panel discussion challenging the industry to consider domestic sourcing not simply through the lens of unit price, but as part of a wider conversation around risk mitigation, margin protection and long-term growth.
“There is a lot of conversation about reshoring and buying British, but if we genuinely want to see more production taking place here, we have to move beyond ambition and build the commercial case for it. That means addressing the realities of cost, capacity and lead times, while recognising the value UK manufacturing can offer through speed, flexibility, quality and resilience,” Ellingham said.
“Manchester Made & Regions brings manufacturers, brands, retailers and industry leaders together to examine what is standing in the way and what needs to change. From reindustrialisation and public procurement to changing consumer demand and the business case for sourcing closer to home, our focus is on practical solutions that can turn growing interest in British manufacturing into meaningful commercial action.”
