Alvanon brings Fashion Fit Movement to UK

Alvanon, the global fashion industry’s leading fashion sizing and fit expert, has committed over £50,000 worth of world class technical fit forms and pattern blocks to Fashion Enter, a groundbreaking garment manufacturing and training centre of excellence based in The Factory, Haringey, North London.  The technical fit AlvaForms and AlvaBlock pattern templates will be used in Fashion Enter’s Stitching Academy, established with the support of online fashion retailer ASOS.com, to give young people recognised apprenticeships in technical sewing and production skills.  The Fashion Enter enterprise is showing by example that it is possible to fill the UK’s sewing and technical skills’ gap and re-build a viable and sustainable UK-based manufacturing sector.

Alvanon’s AlvaForm donation will put world class garment sizing and fit tools in the hands of Fashion Enter’s experienced production team and apprentices enabling them to design and produce ‘best’ fitting garments for fashion clients that include ASOS.com, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Topshop. It is the second donation of its kind Alvanon has made following the launch of its global Fashion Fit Movement; an initiative aimed at helping restore and revitalise technical sewing skills and local manufacturing hubs in the US, Europe and Far East.  As part of its global fashion fit initiative, Alvanon has committed to donate its technical fit tools and consultancy services to selected apparel design and manufacturing businesses that are rebuilding their local production capabilities, and to industry associations that support local production efforts. 

Commenting on the donation to Fashion Enter, Jenny Holloway its founder and chief executive officer said: “We are striving to achieve the highest possible production and training standards.  Alvanon’s donation will enable our sewing professionals and apprentices to size and fit garments accurately and consistently across the production process.” She added: “I cannot overstate how important it is to produce clothes that satisfy the sizing and fit requirements of our customers – it means they get clothes that fit more of their customers better, this leads to greater customer loyalty, increased demand and translates into repeat business for us. We are indebted to Alvanon for its support.”

In response Janice Wang, CEO, Alvanon explained: “Fashion Enter is playing a leadership role in the re-skilling of the UK’s fashion manufacturing sector and its achievements have already been outstanding. Its Stitching Academy is training up to 20 new students every six weeks and giving them a level 1 national qualification in ‘stitching skills’ which can lead into a full apprenticeship programme in fashion and textiles.” She concluded: “Fashion Enter is restoring ‘the lost art of the technical’ and this will have a major impact on the UK’s ability to re-build its garment manufacturing sector. As Alvanon’s CEO I am 100 per cent behind Jenny’s production and training ambitions and am delighted we have been able to assist.”

In the nine months to February 2014 Fashion Enter is on track to realise 43 per cent year on year growth and is set to more than double its manufacturing space increasing its production capacity from 7,500 to over 16,000 units per week. A total of sixteen AlvaForms will be located throughout The Factory including in its pattern making and grading, sampling, fitting and production-line departments.

 

About Fashion Enter

Founded in 2006 Fashion Enter’s garment production and training enterprise operates from The Factory, and currently outputs some 7,500 units a week. The Factory’s services include; pattern making and cutting, toiling, first-fit sampling and mass production. Its team of highly skilled pattern cutters and machinists manufacture all soft separates in woven and jersey plus tailored items. The Factory also houses the Stitching Academy, the UK’s first collaborative apprenticeship and training facility set up by ASOS.com and Fashion Enter, which provides a route into a National Apprenticeship that previously did not exist in fashion for young people. The Factory also houses The Fashion Studio a sampling and toiling facility for small production runs of up to 300 units and is set to expand to incorporate a new Fashion Technical Academy. The ASOS Foundation, a registered charity, supplies all technical equipment and machinery, matching contributions from Haringey Council for teaching costs. All activity is also supported by grant funding from the Department of Work & Pensions via Jobcentre Plus to drive British manufacturing by young people. For more information, please visit www.fashion-enter.com

About Alvanon’s Fashion Fit Movement

Through its Fashion Fit Movement Alvanon donates garment sizing and fit tools and consultancy services to selected companies and association’s that are actively seeking to rebuild and restore local production capabilities. The tools and consultancy services will support fashion manufacturers at virtually every stage of garment production from design concept and development through to pattern making, sampling, fitting and full production.  

Alvanon’s first donation was made to the influential Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Fashion Manufacturing Initiative (FMI), an investment fund that offers matching financial grants to select New York City fashion manufacturing businesses.  The donation consisted of Alvanon’s AlvaForm technical fit mannequins and AlvaBlock pattern templates, which FMI awarded to New York City-based pattern service Werkstatt. The donation to CFDA’s FMI program was the first in an ongoing series of technology and performance tool gifts to fashion manufacturers in the US, UK/Europe and Far East.

As Janice Wang, CEO of Alvanon explained: The Fashion Fit Movement is our way of giving back to an industry that’s been so good to us. Fashion manufacturing in New York City and other global fashion hubs has changed tremendously in recent decades.  It’s been a time when major centers such as New York, London and Hong Kong have lost huge pools of technical talent. Our intent is to reinvigorate manufacturing centres of excellence with fundamental production tools, reestablish the lost art of pattern making and encourage professionals at all levels to stake their businesses in these locations. We want the art of the technical to thrive in these locations.”

About Alvanon

Founded in 2001, the Alvanon Group of companies is the global leader in providing full service, integrated fit solutions for the apparel industry.  From its head office in New York, operations centre in Hong Kong and operating offices in the UK and Germany, Alvanon provides customised fit strategies and product development tools to the world’s leading fashion brands, retailers, lingerie, swimwear, sportswear, mail order and corporate clothing suppliers.  Alvanon’s fit offer combines the world’s largest database of 300,000 body scans with the unparalleled expertise, products and services provided by a global team of dedicated sizing and body shape professionals.

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