The Trampery announces new Sustainable Fashion Accelerator

London-based social enterprise The Trampery has launched a new Sustainable Fashion Accelerator at their new building, a studio complex at Fish Island Village founded in partnership with The Peabody Trust.

The Sustainable Fashion Accelerator, funded by the London Legacy Development Corporation, is a bespoke support programme designed to address the underlying issues facing nascent fashion companies in London, explained The Trampery, and will focus on helping fashion designers integrate sustainability into their business models.

“London is emerging as an epicentre for sustainable fashion innovation," said The Trampery founder Charles Armstrong in a statement. "The Trampery Fish Island Village will provide beautiful bespoke studios - but we wanted to do more than that. Through the Sustainable Fashion Accelerator, we will provide free business support resources centred on how to improve sustainability and promote good working standards.”

The six-month bespoke business programme will run four times in the next three years, with the aim of helping more than 30 businesses to develop in an ethical and sustainable manner. The initiative will be led by Vanessa Podmore, an independent expert in global supply chain and sustainability initiatives, and Tom Farrand, a leading mentor and coach focused on circular economy and sustainability.

Steven Tai, Lara Intimates and Sabinna to take part in inaugural Sustainable Fashion Accelerator

Six brands, womenswear designer Steven Tai Studio, contemporary wedding and occasionwear studio We Are Rewritten, ready-to-wear womenswear label Sabinna, sustainable underwear brand Lara Intimates, luxury loungewear brand Leticia Credido, accessories and outerwear designer Sarah Baily and ethical accessory label Been London have been chosen to take part in the inaugural programme.

While three of these brands are already embedded within The Trampery network, the others - Steven Tai Studio, We Are Rewritten and Sabinna - have moved into the first block at Fish Island Village. They are joined by innovative children's wear designers and winners of H&M’s Global Change Award 2019, Petit Pli, jeweller and leather goods designer Sabry Marouf, fashion photography studio 100% Digital, and Sarah Bailey.

“The Sustainable Fashion Accelerator is an exceptional and visionary addition to the London fashion landscape,” added Podmore. “The combination of beautiful affordable workspace, the bespoke support programme for the designer community and the focus on sustainability embedded across the whole enterprise has the potential to fundamentally change the way these businesses emerge and grow and become commercially sustainable for the long term.”

Sustainable Fashion Accelerator names second set of recipients including Daniel W Fletcher

The second cohort of companies and individuals to take part in the initiative will be contemporary menswear brand Daniel W Fletcher, hand-woven leather label Mwoven founded by Martina Spetlova, womenswear brand Patrick McDowall, outerwear company Paynter Jacket Co. founded by Becky Okell and Huw Thomas, childrenswear brand Petit Pli founded by Ryan Mario Yasin, tailoring label Wright LeChapelain founded by Imogen Wright and Vincent Le Chapelin, accessories and jewellery brand Sabry Marouf founded by Daki Marouf and Ahmed Sabry, and footwear label Roker Atelier founded by Alim Latif.

Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons, said: “As a global fashion capital, London has a huge opportunity to lead the way in sustainability. We must act now and with conviction to reduce our impact on the environment. The Sustainable Fashion Accelerator is a great example of how we can support the next generation of designers to drive genuine change, and I’m proud that we are supporting this important work.”

Fish Island Village will be London's largest campus of fashion Studios thanks in part to almost two million pounds of funding from the Mayor's Good Growth Fund, an initiative designed to help local people to take an active role in the regeneration of their communities. The campus is a key project within Hackney Wick's Creative Enterprise Zone, and an important part of the Fashion District Initiative, a hub of ambitious businesses, academic institutions and investors in East London.

Image: courtesy of The Trampery by Marc Sethi