Future Fashion Factory provides £693,000 boost for textile sector

Textile mills, independent fashion brands and manufacturers have all been successful in Future Fashion Factory’s second innovation funding call.

They have secured more than £693,000 investment in research and development (R&D) for the industry.

Future Fashion Factory is part of the Creative Industries Clusters Programme, an £80m initiative led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The programme is led by the University of Leeds in partnership with the University of Huddersfield and Royal College of Art.

As part of the project, Abraham Moon & Sons from Guiseley, will build a digital data archive of historic fabric designs.

Conductive Transfers, from Barnsley, will devise wireless 3D-zoned heaters that can be printed on to garments.

WT Johnson, from Huddersfield, will carry out a project to detect weft misalignment in the fabric finishing process with an intelligent sensory system.

Professor Stephen Russell, Future Fashion Factory director and professor of textile materials and technology at the University of Leeds, said: “Collaboration is crucial to address the challenges faced by the fashion and textile industry.

“We are proud to deliver projects bringing researchers and companies together, enabling them to share expertise and develop innovative products.”

Professor Russell added: “The UK has a world-class fashion and textile industry, full of highly skilled professionals known for the quality of their products.

“These projects will help UK businesses to increase their competitive edge.”

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