Source Fashion and Fashion-Enter, working with the Apparel and Textile Manufacturers Federation (ATMF), will launch a regional UK manufacturing roadshow at Manchester Hall on 4 November 2026.
Made in Manchester & Regions will bring buyers, brands and retailers together with manufacturers from Manchester and across the UK. The free event will examine the commercial conditions needed to expand domestic production and the broader case for local sourcing.
It is the first in a planned series of regional events and builds on three Leicester Made gatherings, as well as Source Fashion’s wider support for UK manufacturing.
Building the commercial case for local production
The programme will explore what is keeping additional orders from reaching British factories and how local production can fit within a balanced supplier base. Sessions will cover public procurement and factory capacity, alongside pressures around minimum order quantities, price negotiations, delivery schedules and ongoing supplier partnerships.
Organisers will also assess how UK manufacturers can stand out through customer relationships, sustainable practices, quality, flexibility and speed. Sessions will help sourcing teams make the case for domestic production to boardrooms, including its implications for margins, supply-chain risk and long-term growth.
“One of the biggest barriers retailers and brands face when it comes to working with UK based manufacturers isn’t always cost, but visibility, who to work with and who is left? This event is aimed at bringing the industry together and shining a light on local capabilities and arm buyers with the insight and clear rationale as to why in an era of incredible volatility localised production makes sense as part of a balance supplier mix,” Suzanne Ellingham, Event Director of Source Fashion.
“We are also taking this opportunity to bring together all the key industry stakeholders who are coming together to force change and create a unified voice that will demand government support for this sector.”
The roadshow follows Source Fashion’s largest edition to date at ExCeL London in July, where its British Pavilion featured 32 UK manufacturers. Discussions at that show challenged assumptions about domestic costs and capacity, while highlighting the role of shorter production runs and faster responses to demand.
Public procurement enters the discussion
Public procurement will form part of the Manchester programme following fashion industry calls for more UK-made uniforms in NHS and defence contracts. The event announcement does not indicate that the government has adopted a textile-specific domestic manufacturing requirement.
Jenny Holloway, Chair of ATMF and Founder of Fashion-Enter added that the timing for the event was “perfect”, given that PM Andy Burnham has been “strongly endorsing the re-industrialization and restoring of public procurement contacts”.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham placed regional industry within his government’s agenda in a House of Commons statement on 1 September, saying: “The driving force behind it all will be Number 10 North. It will oversee the rewiring of the British state, the rebuilding of resilience in our communities and the re-industrialisation of our regions.”
Organisers plan to reveal the complete list of Manchester speakers over the next few weeks. The manufacturing series will next feature at Source Fashion at ExCeL London, scheduled for 19–21 January 2027, and will head to Scotland in the first quarter of 2027.