A decade after it last hosted the event, Manchester is putting itself back on the fashion map with the return of Manchester Fashion Week, aiming to showcase northern talent and highlight its textile heritage beyond London.
Known for its grey skies, the city lit up this week as the long-awaited fashion week kicked off. The opening show came from designer Drew Kent, a Central Saint Martins graduate whose playful crochet designs have been worn by comedian Joe Lycett and pop duo The Scissor Sisters. His latest collection, unveiled in the city’s Castle field district, was an explosion of pinks and purples with oversized hats, glittering sequins, and fluffy cardigans. “It’s basically my wardrobe,” Kent said before the show. “It’s all about my childhood, dressing Action Man in Barbie clothes.”
The timing is striking. New York Fashion Week begins Thursday, and London Fashion Week follows just a week later. Laura Weir, the new CEO of the British Fashion Council, has been pushing to spread industry attention outside the capital, introducing events nationwide under the “City Wide” program. Manchester is part of that, along with Liverpool and Newcastle. The city will also host extra events, including a showcase at the Vivienne West wood store and a collaboration with local evening wear designer Nadine Merabi.
Executive producer Gamma Grafton called this year’s return a “proof of concept,” designed to get Manchester Fashion Week noticed. Unlike London, the event is entirely privately funded. “We asked the council for support three times and got nothing but vague promises,” Gratton said. “We want to show we have the team and professionalism to deliver something special.”
The focus has shifted from the past. The last Manchester Fashion Week was backed by fast-fashion brand Missguided, but this year the emphasis is on sustainability. Kent’s collection was built from sustainable materials, and Gratton says sponsors are carefully vetted. “Two of the city’s biggest fast-fashion brands approached us,” she said. “We need the money, but we can’t take it if it doesn’t match our values.”
Alongside the runway, workshops and talks cover topics from green washing to street wear to Manchester’s cultural role in fashion and music. Gratton stresses they are not trying to compete with London. “London has the glamour. We want to focus on education.”
Manchester’s fashion roots are deep. The city’s textile history goes back more than 200 years, and brands like Private White VC trace their lineage nearly a century. Some events this week will also examine the colonial legacies in the fashion supply chain. “This is a celebration of northern creativity,” said John Hugenson, CEO of sustainability consultancy Eco-Age. “In London, people don’t dress up much. But go to Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, and every Friday night people are dressed to the nines. It’s brilliant.”
Veteran designer Wayne Hemingway, who grew up near Manchester and founded the iconic 1990s label Red or Dead, credits the city with shaping his career. Still, he doubts whether the event can have the same pull as London. “Editors don’t have the time, buyers don’t have the budgets to travel everywhere,” he said. “But Manchester can still carve out a space as a serious fashion city in the media.”
For Kent, who grew up in Liverpool, the event is personal. He recalls feeling out of place as a working-class student at Central Saint Martins, later moving back north after graduating. “It’s too expensive to be a designer in London,” he said. “Manchester Fashion Week shows you don’t need to be there. You don’t need huge backing to create something original.”
