Source Fashion’s UK Manufacturers Set to Become Second-Largest Country Presence at July Show
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Source Fashion will significantly strengthen its British Pavilion at the July 2026 edition, with UK manufacturers set to become the second-largest country presence at the show, after China, reflecting a strategic initiative by the show to support UK based Manufacturers. Taking place at Excel London from 7–9 July, the event is expected to host between 40–45 UK manufacturers and businesses, a marked increase driven directly by visitor feedback and increasing demand for more localised, responsive sourcing solutions.
This season, the British Pavilion will play a more prominent role within Source Fashion’s wider sourcing offer, reflecting its growing commitment to scaling UK manufacturing alongside its international exhibitor base. Showcasing a diverse cross-section of production capability, from innovative knitwear and low-impact garment finishing to full-service manufacturing partners, the Pavilion highlights the breadth of expertise available across the UK, including responsible and lower-impact production models.
New British manufacturers join the July edition
An expanding line-up of UK-based manufacturers will join Source Fashion this July, strengthening the British Pavilion and reflecting the scale and diversity of UK production. Among the latest additions are a wide cohort of UK exhibitors including Knitster, a London-based knitwear specialist focused on agile, design-led production; LaundRE, offering low-impact garment finishing and laundry solutions; and LLUK, a full-service manufacturing partner supporting brands with scalable, end-to-end production in the UK, KC Manufacturing, Source Fashions first Scottish exhibitor, bringing their sustainable processes and beautifully made private label collections that demonstrate their capabilities, The T-shirt Factory, a Leicester-based specialist focused on remanufacturing deadstock into new garments, with more manufacturers being announced in the coming weeks. Together, these manufacturers reflect a strong mix of heritage, innovation and responsible production, showcasing the strength of British manufacturing today and reinforcing the Pavilion’s appeal to buyers seeking both established expertise and agile UK partners.
Their addition reflects a wider shift across the industry, as brands look to rebalance their supply chains, reduce lead times, gain closer oversight of production and work with partners that offer greater transparency and agility. Within the British Pavilion, this ecosystem of UK-based suppliers and specialists provides buyers with a more comprehensive and commercially viable sourcing offer alongside global options.
Supporting the future of UK manufacturing
Source Fashion continues to invest in initiatives designed to strengthen the visibility and commercial reach of British manufacturing, including its bursary-backed British Pavilion. Launched last season, the scheme provides selected manufacturers with funded exhibition space and dedicated marketing support, helping to remove barriers to participation while enabling them to connect with new buyers and convert visibility into commercial opportunity.
By creating a more accessible and representative platform for UK manufacturers, Source Fashion is supporting the development of a stronger domestic offer alongside its international exhibitor base. The continued expansion of the Pavilion reflects the increasing prominence of UK manufacturing at the show and its role in building a more substantial and commercially relevant UK presence.
Strengthening domestic sourcing alongside global reach
The growing prominence of the British Pavilion reflects Source Fashion’s wider strategy of strengthening domestic sourcing alongside its global reach, bringing together manufacturers from across Europe, Asia and the Americas with an increasing number of UK producers. This enables buyers to explore a broader range of production options in one place, supporting more resilient and commercially responsive sourcing decisions.
Suzanne Ellingham, Event Director of Source Fashion, said: “ We have a truly global show floor, reflecting the reality of where our visitors source from, and are looking to source from. Importantly, it reflects the interests of our buying community who are looking to build resilience into their supply chain and sourcing mix, and we have seen a genuine move towards buyers and international buyers, attending the show to connect with British Manufacturers, so we know the demand is there.
By bringing as many British Manufacturers as we can under one roof, we are able to showcase the best of our manufacturing in the same way other countries and export agencies do, creating a platform for British Fashion and Textile Manufacturing and letting them be seen.
Reflecting the incredibly tough trading conditions within British Manufacturing, the rate of factory closures we are seeing, and over 71,000 jobs have been lost in UK fashion and textile manufacturing in the last 6 years, I decided last year that we were going to step into the void and do our best to support domestic UK manufacturers. As someone who grew up around manufacturing, I feel everyone in this community must support these amazing businesses even if it’s in a small way, before we lose them.
The result of this is that in July, I’m expecting it to become our second-largest country presence after China. That growth is being driven directly by us reaching out and creating ways for these factories to be seen at the show. We know that as buyers look for greater flexibility, transparency and proximity within their supply chains expanding the British Pavilion allows us to respond to that demand in a meaningful way, while showcasing the importance of UK production within the wider sourcing conversation.”
Source Fashion returns to Excel London from 7–9 July 2026, bringing together audited manufacturers from the UK and key international sourcing regions.