‘This isn’t just Manchester’s moment. It’s Manchester fashion’s reset’
Models walk the runway during the CHANEL Metiers D’Art Fashion Show in December 2023(Image: Getty Images)
One of Manchester’s top fashion events is to make a big return after a ten-year break.
Manchester Fashion Week was first held in 2011 as a showcase of top designers and brands, with the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Ted Baker, and Mulberry amongst some of the fashion brands to be represented at previous events.
Originally founded by entrepreneur Jonathan Sassen, the last time the event was held was in May 2015 where a three-day showcase featured brands including Chanel Joan Elkayam and Blue Inc.
The event has now been reignited by Carry Somers, founder of global movement Fashion Revolution, and Safia Minney MBE, who is an award-winning social entrepreneur and the founder of sustainable fashion brand People Tree.
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Taking place from September 9 to 11, this year’s MFW will be held across the St. John’s area of Manchester, near Castlefield, with an official hub base at the newly-refurbished Campfield. The venue, which dates back to 1878, was historically used to house iconic Victorian market halls and has been later known as the home of the Air & Space Museum until 2021.
The event will feature a range of public experiences and cultural events, and aims to showcase how Manchester’s industrial heritage ‘from historic mills to contemporary catwalks’.
Manchester Fashion Week was last held ten years ago(Image: Manchester Evening News)
The three-day event will spotlight three different themes – Heritage & Future-Proof, Health & Wellness and Tech & Innovation – which will merge fashion with conscious innovation across each day.
Gemma Gratton, Executive Producer of Manchester Fashion Week, said: “Manchester has always led – in music, in manufacturing, in movements. And now, it’s time to lead again by future-proofing fashion from the ground up.
“Manchester Fashion Week is not just a celebration of style, but a cultural catalyst for people, purpose, and progress.”
John Higginson, CEO, of Eco Age, which is a media partner of the event, said: “Manchester is Britain’s fashion mecca. Where else do you go where everyone walks around as if they are always on a catwalk? But there is a fight between crappy flimsy fast fashion and the beautiful things you want to keep forever.
“Manchester Fashion Week is all about future fashion – forever fashion.”
Manchester Fashion Week will have an official hub base at Campfield Market Hall, on Barton Street opposite the Science and Industry Museum(Image: Manchester Evening News)
The news comes after Chanel decided to host their inaugural Metiers D’Art fashion show in Manchester at the end of 2023. Attended by celebrities and world-famous names in design, the event put a spotlight on the city with an outdoor stage-set up in the Northern Quarter.
Event organisers said the return of MFW comes as Manchester’s fashion industry, worth an estimated £12bn, faces ‘unprecedented challenges around sustainability, technology and cultural relevance’.
“This isn’t just Manchester’s moment. It’s Manchester fashion’s reset,” the organisers emphasized. “And it starts here – right from the root.”
More details on MFW, running September 9 to 11, will be announced in the coming months.