Yorkshire vintage repro fashion brand House of Foxy: 'Gen Z understands why quality clothing beats fast fashion'

Elland once had 39 textile mills. Wellington Mills was a steam-powered, cotton-spinning mill built in 1860-1868. It burned down in 1875, and again in 1912, but was rebuilt, and now, in this historic setting, House of Foxy makes and sells classic, wearable, striking designs influenced by 20th-century fashions from the 1920s to the 1970s.

At first, the clothes were made at a factory in Scotland, but when it closed during the pandemic, Ms Quartermaine decided to set up Foxy’s own manufacturing unit at her Elland HQ. There are five machinists and a cutter, making 100-150 designs a week. One staff member has more than 30 years experience, trained in her family business, then honing her skills in bridal. Another has 20 years’ experience, learning to sew as a teenager in her homeland of Pakistan. Two are in their 20s, with Fashion degrees.

“Fashion covers a myriad of things from design through to merchandising, buying, styling, but they chose designing and making,” Ms Quartermaine says. “We do something called through-work, you’re making a garment from beginning to end, whereas in a lot of larger factories, they do piece (work) – a portion of the garment – but this is real craftsmanship, rather than just a factory churning out stuff.”

House of Foxy uses old-school methods rather than computer-based technology, with patterns on cards used to mark the fabric for cutting, before being passed to the machinists.

There are challenges, of course, including finding money to cover the increase in National Insurance contributions. “The constant rises in taxes – when, after the last five years, it’s been difficult,” she says.

Other challenges include sourcing quality fabric. “You can get stuff from Moons and different places, but generally the quality of fabric is going downhill, or has been. There are no shops on the High Street, boutiques, places that can afford to be open and stock different things.

“It’s too difficult to have shops. Difficult for brands and manufacturers, because you are relying online.”

There is also a lack of appreciation of the craftsmanship it takes to produce clothes in the UK (Foxy also makes its diffusion designs in Poland, fighting back against cheap copies made overseas).

“The public’s perception of what’s of value in clothing has been slowly degraded over time, due to fast fashion,” Mr Quartermaine says. “The idea of quality and things that are made to last, it’s very different from what it used to be.

“But I do see the marks of change in that attitude, maybe not from the millennial generation, but very much Gen Z. Our mantra is ‘made with love, designed to be treasured’.”

If she could have just one immediate improvement, it would be training. “There are no apprenticeships for machinist jobs. It’s not seen as something to put resources to and so it’s difficult to get people with the skill set. We’ve been very lucky finding young people that want to do it.

“There are young people that want to work with their hands. We don’t need any more designers, we need skilled people.”