De Montfort University supports Leicester’s garment industry

De Montfort University (DMU) and Fashion-Enter Ltd will be working together with Leicester City Council to offer support to textiles manufacturers and local textiles workers in the garment industry after Leicester received 500,000 pounds from the Government’s Community Renewal Fund (CRF).

The project aims to assist textiles manufacturers and local textiles workers in receiving training and skills from the recently launched Fashion Technology Academy. As well, the three partners will work together to support best practices and ethical compliance, workforce skills and innovation.

DMU will be working with companies to develop a growth strategy plan, provide leadership training and focus on adopting new production systems and using more sustainable fabrics and methods.

Deputy city mayor councillor Adam Clarke said in a statement: “We are very pleased to be working with our partners Fashion-Enter and De Montfort University on this project, both of whom bring substantial valuable expertise to the project. Specialist training providers Fashion-Enter are also working with us on our fashion technology academy, while DMU is well known for driving innovation in the fashion industry.

“Together, we can combine our expert local and industry knowledge to support businesses to become beacons of best practice, in turn sharing what they learn with other businesses to create a wide-reaching positive impact.”

Katie Normington, professor and vice-chancellor of DMU, added: "The city of Leicester and DMU share a rich history in fashion and textiles, and the university is delighted to be part of this far-reaching project. We will be working closely with companies of all sizes on this plan, which has the potential to re-imagine business models and develop a more sustainable future for the industry."

Jenny Holloway, CEO of Fashion-Enter, commented: “Following on from the launch of the fashion technology academy, this is more good news for Leicester! The CRF revenue will allow for a wider range of training initiatives that will offer further wrap-around support to factories and workers. This will include information on new learner technologies, workers' rights and e-commerce websites for brand development. It’s time to really establish Leicester as a major quality ethical manufacturing centre of excellence.”

Photo credit: De Montfort University