JOIN FESPA TEXTILE AMBASSADOR AT SCHOOL COLLEGE FASHION WEEK LONDON | 11TH JULY
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT FESPA
Debbie McKeegan, FESPA Textile Ambassador and CEO of Texintel, will speak at School College Fashion Week | London on the 11th July.
The print Industry offers an exciting future for the next generation, as digital disruption rebuilds the Graphic and Textile landscape the sector offers creatives a vibrant career path in Print…
School College Fashion Week aims to inspire young people and those wanting to pursue a career in the vibrant creative sector. It will provide a great opportunity for students and young people to gain real advice from a range of different industry speakers about a career in the creative industries. Visit the website for more details. http://www.schoolcollegefashionweek.com
Exhibitions from different schools, organisations and academies in categories fashion, beauty, art, media and graphics. Attendees can develop their skills with numerous workshops such as one-to-one fashion mentoring with British-Nigerian fashion designer Wale Adeyemi MBE, social media workshop with digital communications specialist Digiwoo, creative universities workshops and much more.
The event will be hosted by Eastenders star Bunmi Mojekwu, social entrepreneur and motivational speaker Hannah Oyewole and singer songwriter Inkra Debelle.
Join us to support the next generation of creatives!! As they choose their career paths.
LOCATION:
CentrEd at ExCeL London
1 Western Gateway
London
E16 1XL
Here's your FREE Entry Pass link for the event: Password: SCFW19
Is the Textile Market Finally Recovering?
After a difficult few years, there are genuine reasons for optimism. Duncan was candid about the challenges: "The market for textiles has been very difficult over the last three years. I'm not going to hide the truth there. But the tide is turning.“
Sportswear held relatively firm throughout the downturn, and customised apparel is now showing renewed momentum. Duncan noted a significant rise in interest around direct-to-film (DTF) technology - while direct-to-fabric printing is also regaining traction.
A profound shift is currently reshaping the sector
Changing consumer expectations demand greater design diversity, faster turnaround times, and sustainable manufacturing practices.
To thrive, interior brands must adapt their supply chains, bringing production closer to the end consumer and moving away from bulk manufacturing.
Digital textile printing offers a definitive solution to these operational bottlenecks.
Digital transformation doesn't announce itself.
It accumulates - one innovation at a time - until an entire industry looks back and realises the ground has shifted beneath its feet. That's precisely where textiles stands today.
The conversations happening now about AI, automation, sustainability, and digital product passports are not theoretical. They are shaping decisions being made on factory floors and in boardrooms right now.
“By leveraging advanced digital textile printing, Marylene Madou has successfully merged traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. Her approach offers a blueprint for how independent designers can scale their brands globally while maintaining a minimal environmental footprint.”
What Is the Digital Product Passport?
At its core, a Digital Product Passport is a digital record attached to a physical product - typically accessed via a QR code, NFC chip, or barcode – that documents everything about that product across its entire lifecycle.
For a printed textile product, this means the DPP would capture data on the substrate, inks and dyes used, the printing process and technology, chemical compliance, environmental impact (including water and energy use), supply chain traceability, and end-of-life instructions.
From Helsinki's printing mill to Paris's Le Marais, discover how Marimekko is scaling a design-led brand with purpose, craft, and bold innovation.
But what makes Marimekko's story compelling is not just its aesthetic legacy?
The textile industry is undergoing a vital transformation. As the insights from Techtextil and Texprocess reveal, the path forward relies on a combination of sustainable hardware, intelligent chemistry, and seamless digital workflows.
From Zimmer's industrial-scale energy reductions and Stratasys's on-demand 3D embellishments, to Kornit's single-step technical printing and the unified digital ecosystems of NedGraphics and Optitex, the tools for change are here. To stay competitive, brands and manufacturers must adopt these innovations, moving away from fragmented, wasteful processes towards a truly connected, circular economy.
Friedmans stands as a testament to the power of combining traditional textile knowledge with forward-thinking innovation.
“Operating from their UK headquarters, Friedmans now serves a diverse array of sectors, including swimwear, dance, entertainment, sportswear, interior decor, prosthetics, and even pet apparel. With a strategic supply chain that reliably serves clients worldwide”
The apparel decoration industry is decisively moving away from isolated, analogue production tools toward connected digital manufacturing environments.
"Kornit’s unwavering commitment to transformative technology continues to disrupt the status quo. For business leaders and innovators ready to capture the future of apparel manufacturing, the path forward is clear”
The Urgent Need for Sustainability at Scale
The transformation at Coats provides a vital blueprint for the wider textile and apparel sector. True sustainability cannot be achieved in silos. As Dearing emphasised:
“Cross-industry collaboration is the engine of meaningful change. Brands, machinery suppliers, chemical providers, and fibre producers must act as an interconnected ecosystem”