Bigger-than-ever Source Fashion gets strong reception

Source Fashion is becoming a hugely important event on the show calendar and this season it attracted thousands of visitors through its doors. 

They included representatives of brands and retailers including Clarks, French Connection, Lyle & Scott, Paul Smith, PepsiCo, Reiss, Jaded, River Island, Sainsbury’s, Very Group, AX Paris, Debenhams, Hunter, Boden, and Amazon, to name just a few.

It was the show’s last edition in the National Hall at Olympia as it’s evolving and moving into the bigger Grand Hall space for February 2025. That’s a reflection of its status as the largest garment manufacturing show in Europe, attracting hundreds of exhibitors and with visitor numbers increasing by 120% since last July. 

Source Luxury also tripled in size since its February 2024 launch and the show will be even bigger next time with footwear and leather debuting for the next edition.

The event is also changing from being sectioned by country to product category, such as Womenswear, Menswear, Footwear, Accessories, Source Luxury, and Technology & Services.

So what did visitors think of the latest edition? Simon Platts, co-founder of Recomme, who attended for two days, said: “Suppliers here today were showing fantastic capabilities for speed and agility, you’ve got representation all over the world including the UK which is brilliant from a sourcing proximity point of view. 

“Several suppliers have caught my eye on various different levels, one supplier I know is making for Finisterre which is my go-to brand, ‘the Patagonia of the UK’.”

Scott Taylor from Hoggs of Fife stressed its value as a UK show: “The importance of this show is that I can travel less. We don’t have huge teams, so a UK-based show is fantastic. I’m here looking for new fabrics and I’m keen to source something a little different and newer to find a niche. We’ve picked up two potential new manufacturers today.”

From the exhibitor side, Anabella Carvalho from Miguel Sousa Portugal (showing within Source Luxury), said the company had established 50 contacts at the event — “a mix of new companies and established brands, which is very positive and the main reason we came to the show. Now we will follow up and establish ways of working together, including inviting them to visit us in Portugal. We wanted to be [here], to present ourselves to new contacts in the UK, and save them having to travel and find us”.

Prince Arthur Oche from Nigeria’s Beyond Clothing echoed the importance of making such contacts: “We’ve been manufacturing for 18 years but it’s always been local, never really gone beyond the shores of Nigeria. It’s been a learning experience, and we’ve gotten some very interesting leads. People seem to be excited about the fact we’re from Africa.”

And Syed Kazmi from Varsity City, which specialises in producing Varsity Jackets, made contacts across the board retailer-wise from “loads of independents as well as big brands and recognisable high-street names, those are the movers and shakers you want to be involved with”.

On the stage

Particularly interesting aside from the exhibitors, was the speaker line-up with Nick Beighton a hot ticket. He’s always a big draw having run both ASOS in its heyday and the late, lamented Matches.

He said that a profit focus and a more conscious approach can go hand in hand and that shareholders need to be educated out of only focusing on the former.

“I’m an unashamed capitalist but capitalism creates problems and issues,” he explained. “Conscious capitalism overall gets better results. I reconcile it with creating a purpose for a brand. Purpose should drive profit, not profit driving purpose. We can use capitalism to change the agenda and future-proof business. It can enrich and change the ecosystem.”

But he’s not an advocate of scaling back the fashion industry to make it more sustainable: “I don’t think we should make less, I think we should make better. Make garments in a transparent way where you know where the materials are grown, you know the conditions of the factory. Imagine the farm and factory had glass walls – if you could see everything going on in there would you still want that garment?

“There is no competitive advantage to abusing the planet. We need to collaborate for better solutions on everything from packaging to plastics.” 

Meanwhile, Mike Coates of the Competition and Markets Authority referenced greenwashing and stressed that “businesses are going to have to come together and collaborate to achieve the step changes they need to make. It is the holy grail to be able to show the consumer an entire product journey.”

And Hayley Shore, Design Director at PepsiCo, showed pieces from a new Pepsi fashion collection mostly produced in the UK or Europe, with offcuts and waste being reused in the next collection. She said it’s “important to ask ‘who’s making it, what’s the footprint, what’s the product’s lifecycle, is it fit for purpose, why are we making it, and are we giving ourselves enough lead times to create it in a better way? It’s also about educating our partners to invest more in the process of making things better.”

Event Director Suzanne Ellingham said the recurring theme was that “collaboration, the sharing of best practice, education, and storytelling are key to achieving a better fashion industry. There is a need and desire to do much better business and with new legislation and the opportunity to hold open conversations I feel pretty positive that these changes are more and more likely”.

The day 3 seminar programmes was also interesting for its practical advice. Focused on ‘Learning, Education and Certification’, visitors heard about the Developing Countries Trading Scheme that removes or reduces import duties from 65 developing countries. UK policy advisors Sabiha Ahmed and Jasmine Dirie from FCDO talked about how to take advantage of new legislation that aims to stimulate trade with developing regions looking to diversify and increase their exports while providing financial incentives to UK businesses who want to source better.

And the session on B Corp Certification featured Geoff van Sonsbeeck, CEO of House of Baukjen, and Joanna Adjetey De Palmer, Engagement Manager of B Lab UK. They offered insight into the certification process, how to prepare and, most importantly, how to undergo an internal transformation to keep in line with B Corp standards.

Sonsbeeck said: “Part of the principle of B Corp is to work very closely with your suppliers. There used to be a very old fashion attitude to the supply chain full of secrecy. But if you start lifting the veil you can start collaborating on reducing the footprint, reducing waste and then you end up making more money. It becomes self-fulfilling. We do our best to inspire our suppliers to embrace the journey.”

There were also sessions on building a profitable sourcing strategy, understanding the Global Organic Textile Standard’, and the key things to think about and do when moving sourcing to new regions.