New programme to support London creatives behind sustainable fashion brands

Applications are now open for a fully-funded training programme with industry experts. Emerging fashion brands will benefit from monthly mentoring and peer-to-peer workshops worth over £2,500 per participating business.

Fashion District, in collaboration with Evo Learning and supported by the Mayor of London, has launched Evo Fashion, a five-month innovation programme to empower the next generation of sustainable fashion brands and fashion technology businesses by providing high-impact training, valuable industry insights and networking opportunities.

Evo Fashion has been created to tackle the underlying challenges that emerging fashion labels face, such as the difficulty to integrate sustainable business models, access to early-stage financing, and gaining traction with global players.

The programme aims to provide fashion entrepreneurs with the tools and framework needed to advance their business goals, upskill ethical working standards and achieve supply chain sustainability in a highly competitive industry.

Designed to fit alongside work commitments, the fully-funded programme valued at over £2,500 to each participating brand, will include an initial two-day launch weekend, monthly leadership mentoring and peer-to-peer workshops with industry experts, as well as to open up investment and transform growth opportunities for the participating businesses.

Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, commented: “London is the fashion capital of the world and supporting new brands, businesses and designers through projects such as Evo Fashion will help new fashion entrepreneurs thrive.

“The Mayor and I are proud to support initiatives like these which work with businesses to build a better, more sustainable and prosperous London for everyone.”

Janet Coyle CBE, Managing Director of Grow London at London & Partners said: “This is a much-needed programme, particularly when the fashion industry is responsible for 8 to 10 per cent of global emissions. We are consciously aware that clear and credible change is needed.

“By providing emerging fashion businesses with the right support and access to industry experts early on, we are helping to put environmental sustainability at the heart of their growth strategies. London & Partners teams are excited to be on this journey with them, and we look forward to the announcement of the first cohort of businesses early next year.”

Helen Lax, Director, Fashion District, added: “Evo Fashion is creating opportunities for fashion-forward businesses to evolve and innovate in London. The programme is designed to support designer labels and tech businesses to be more sustainable, more ethical and more robust.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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