FC Designer Collective brands include:

Another Earthling – needle-felted animal and bird masks
Buttress and Snatch – Ethical and sustainable lingerie
Craftiela – handmade, natural and organic bath products
Diva Choice – Statement jewellery and accessories
Hashtag Made IV Me – bespoke and handmade ladieswear with a cultural infusion
Mr Noticed – Luxury menswear
Jannaty – Modesty wear and accessories
Sarah Hill – Greeting cards
The Sundown Society – Ethical sleepwear

Case studies:

1. Tricia Blake, founder of Diva Choice: “Having a physical shop to display my unique pieces has provided a platform for me to grow, which is invaluable. Fashion Enter helps me all the time too with promotion and actually I just couldn’t be happier!”

2. Mary Obaseki from Another Earthling: “I live on the Andover Estate and love shopping on Fonthill Road; walking past and seeing my work there is such a great feeling. As a one-woman small business, you take on every aspect and have to learn as you go; that can be overwhelming and quite isolating, so it’s a massive blessing to be included in this project. From my products being in a local bricks-and-mortar shop and the mentoring, to just being part of something creative with other like-minded local women, is amazing.”

3. Rachel Kenyon from lingerie brand Buttress and Snatch: “I am really excited for B&S to be included in the collective and to take up a place in the shop. It’s a great opportunity for us to take part in our local community, having made lingerie and swimwear here in north London for 20 years. We custom-make our pieces individually to each order with a zero-waste system and send them out all over the world, but the physical shop will allow a new and responsive way to work that is full of potential. I am a passionate believer that this kind of small-scale, personal and local approach to clothes making is key for the sustainable fashion that we need for the future.”

– More quotes from designer-makers at FC Designer Collective are available on request. Please submit any interview requests to [email protected].

Fashion-Enter:

Fashion-Enter Ltd (FEL) is an award-winning social enterprise which is a centre of ethical garment manufacturing with a leading status in the Fast Forward audit and is also SMETA audited. FEL has a minimum order quantity of 1 for their Fashion Studio service and currently produces up to 12,000-15,000 garments a week for speed of response fashion from their three units in north London. Clients include ASOS, Tesco F&F, Coast, Brora and brands such as Louisa Parris and Matthew Williamson.

FEL launched the UK’s first ESFA-approved Fashion Technology Academy in 2015, operating alongside the factory and offering a range of qualifications at Levels 1 to 5, which cover the entire of the ‘garment life cycle’ including stitching, production, pattern cutting and tailoring. FEL is also the largest training provider of apprenticeships at levels 3 and 4 within apparel manufacturing (fashion), working with employers such as ASOS.com, Marks & Spencer, River Island and Amazon.

In November 2019, FEL launched the Tailoring Academy with funding from the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund and Haringey Council. The Tailoring Academy is a state-of-the-art clothing manufacturing and training facility, which provides specialist skills, job training and apprenticeships for ready-to-wear and bespoke tailoring.

FEL has opened the FC Designer Collective with support from Islington Council and the Mayor Of London’s Good Growth Fund, to provide business support to local brands, working alongside the garment makers and wholesalers of the famous Fonthill Road.

Islington Council:

Islington Council’s ambition is to create a strong and inclusive local economy in the post-Covid world, helping to create training and employment opportunities for local residents, and supporting them to grow their businesses, thereby creating more jobs and training opportunities for more local residents. This is achieved through the creation of affordable workspaces in local premises that would otherwise be out of reach of small and micro businesses, and partnerships with organisations that can help us create training and employment opportunities in specific industries, such as with Fashion Enter in the garment industry. As part of this ongoing partnership, the council and Fashion Enter are delivering dedicated sewing and garment workshop spaces on the Andover Estate. The Designer Collective shop space on Fonthill Road and workshop spaces on the Andover Estate have been made possible with £1m of funding from the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund. For more information on the council’s affordable workspace programme, see: https://www.islington.media/news?SearchString=affordable+workspace

The Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund:

The Good Growth Fund is the Mayor of London’s biggest regeneration fund and is delivered through the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP). It provides £70m of capital funding from sources including the Local Growth Fund and European Social Fund, as well as expert regeneration advice, design support and knowledge sharing opportunities. For more information on the Good Growth Fund, see: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/regeneration/funding-opportunities/good-growth-fund-supporting-regeneration-london/good-growth-fund-supported-projects

The London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP):

LEAP is the local enterprise partnership for London. The LEAP brings entrepreneurs and business together