A meander around the UK reveals an enthusiastic core of talented designers, dedicated consultants and skilful makers.

“Innovate and iterate” is the advice Hiut Denim’s co-founder Clare Hieatt gives to companies that want to stay fresh and relevant in today’s denim sector – something the Welsh jeans brand and manufacturer excels at. Formed in 2012, the company has nurtured a loyal following using a combination of great product and great storytelling, putting the makers at the front of the narrative. Hiut is among a small number of jeans manufacturers, but a growing number of denim brands, that are creating their own space in the market, alongside fashion experts and consultants who fill the high streets with denim ranges of all kinds.

When the UK-based clothing manufacturing businesses largely moved overseas from the 1970s, much of the infrastructure, as well as the skills, went with it. Protecting these skills and creating work for local people was a key consideration for Hiut, employing people who had worked in the then-closed jeans factories in Cardigan. Learning about the materials and processes, and passing on this knowledge, is also important. “Keep educating the customer about their impact on the environment, and keep learning,” adds Ms Hieatt. “And only work with people who share the same values as you.”

These ‘people’ include Turkish mill Isko and Italy’s Candiani. Last September, Hiut launched its first washed styles at Isko’s new Creative Room in West London. The Rosie Slim Fit Utility Jean and the Betty Taper Jean opened the brand up to customers who wanted softer and more comfortable jeans, rather than its staple raw styles. “We are proud of these suppliers, and their sustainable fabrics really add value to our brand story and product offering.”

The Creative Room is Isko’s way of bringing washing knowledge into the UK, offering a hub for retailers and brands to test the technology and washing recipes before producing on a bigger scale elsewhere. This is also the idea behind Blackhorse Lane Ateliers (BLA)’s soon-to-launch laundry project, which aims to become a place to educate students on the washing side of the business. The East London manufacturer sits alongside Hiut as one of the main makers in the UK, producing for its own label as well as brands including Christopher Raeburn.

Towards the end of 2021, BLA transformed its allotment into an “indigo garden”, run by designers Luisa Uribe and Liza Mackenzie from Indigo Works. Beginning this April, they are launching a seven-month course on growing and dyeing with natural indigo and participants will dye a pair of BLA jeans to take away.

Start-ups versus juggernauts

The idea to upskill retailers is also behind LaundRE, a project by Salli Deighton to establish a small wash centre to reduce waste, keep garments in circulation and repurpose garments that aren’t sold (see Inside Denim Issue 6). “In the UK, we have a lot of good people doing good things,” says consultant Rowan Hunt. “For instance, Salli Deighton, who shares all her knowledge and never reserves anything just for herself.”

Mr Hunt describes himself as a responsible-denim specialist and has worked with retailers including Next and Debenhams. He now develops ranges for fabric mills and garment producers. He admits that without the plethora of brands and manufacturers in the UK, and no big fabric makers, the focus is more on the retailers, which can sometimes struggle to balance sustainability improvements with costs and margins. “The denim industry in the UK definitely has a ‘could do better’ mark,” he admits. “We do have great start-up brands who can begin with sustainable principles and be true to them. With smaller production they use fewer factories so, in theory, keeping things sustainable is easier to police. But on the other side of the coin are the juggernauts of the high street. They may want to do something to improve but can’t turn the ship as fast as they want.”

In these instances, he focuses on small steps in his advisory role: examining every element and making them 1% better each time. If they’d like organic cotton but can’t afford it, he suggests trying Better Cotton as a minimum and adding in some recycled content. “Adding 20% recycled cotton might only give you a price increase of 7%,” he says. “Next is a deeper dive into dyes and chemicals. Is natural dye better than synthetic? Look at all your options and build a road map to where you want to get to.”

Flow of experience

Rowan also gives guest lectures as part of Transformers ED, helping to educate young people entering the industry, passing his knowledge and experience on. The series is run in collaboration with the Kingpins team and by educators including Mohsin Sajid. For the past few years, Mohsin has organised or co-led longer denim projects with Royal College of Art and Ravensbourne University London, as well as the London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins.

He recently presided over the 2021-2022 Ravensbourne University London x Kingpins Show Denim Innovation Project with fellow lecturer Sue Barrett. Fifteen groups of students created denim brands from concept to finished collection over 10 weeks. The winning ‘brands’ were Morvah Denim (paired with Candiani), Interim (Crescent Bahuman) and Novanta (also supported by Candiani). Two students from each of the three winning teams will attend the Kingpins trade show in Amsterdam.

As well as lecturing, Mohsin creates collections through his brand Endrime and consults for companies including Lenzing. He is currently working on a made-to-order collection of British heritage garments in limited edition denims with Chris Hewitt, founder of Hewitt Heritage Fabrics, which introduced UK-woven selvedge in 2020 (see Inside Denim Issue 3).

Hewitt Heritage is moving into a new phase to become Hewitt Denim Mills, which will include the UK-woven fabrics as well as collaborations with brands and other denim mills. Mr Hewitt is also working with Dukinfield-based mill English Fine Cottons for non-indigo denims made with Australian cotton, and trialling denims using recycled wool and cotton weft yarns and as well as hemp, Tencel and lyocell. “I’ve concluded it’s impossible to finish denim in the UK, so I've moved my finishing to Italy,” he says. “My new partner has ozone finishing, which significantly reduces the energy and is zero water. I've also partnered with Kuehne + Nagel, a net-zero shipper, so we can reduce the carbon footprint associated with shipping to Italy and back.”

Tailored approach

Reducing carbon footprint and achieving a lower-impact product is also vital for consultant Claire Ford, who works with brands including Reiss, White Stuff and Anthropology UK. “I look at every element of a jean to make each piece more sustainable and recognisable to the brand,” she says. “What’s important is giving a tailored service and really understanding what they need to deliver their best range.”

The English consultant moved to Australia during the pandemic and is eager for the borders to reopen properly so she can visit factories and laundries once again. The lack of travelling makes relationships vital; she works with Turkish factory Strom UK for many of her ranges. “Strom has such an artistic space in Istanbul; walls covered with art and album graffiti on the factory building. The owners, Baris and Omer, play guitar and drums while you design and everyone who works with them loves their job.” 

She admits the biggest challenges are price, transparency and improving working conditions; brands need to take a more active role in looking after workers, she says. For increased control, she is eyeing her own ranges. “As [designer] Orsola de Castro says, ‘The most sustainable garment is the one already in your wardrobe’, so it will have to be something special, sustainable and the best product I can deliver,” she says.

Style and longevity

This is exactly the ethos behind I AND ME, a brand launched by Jessica Gebhart, a former denim buyer for Topshop, in response to the huge amount of waste she was witnessing in the fashion industry. The first collection came out in 2017, and year on year, customers’ interest in sustainable products is increasing. “The I AND ME customer wants to know that their product has been made in a low impact way, with natural fibres that will not be left behind on our planet,” says Ms Gebhart. “Style and longevity is also very important and this is why we focus on key wardrobe staples that are built to last.”

Although fabrics have always been made with natural fibres, threads and labels have been a poly-cotton mix, so the latest collection is a 100% biodegradable denim as Jessica works towards a plastic-free business. A ‘zero waste’ biodegradable knitwear range, made in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, has been a success.

The business is also partnering traceability platform Retraced, adding QR codes so customers can track products through the supply chain, and view all certifications. The company has begun to offer free lifetime repairs, has two more collaborations in the pipeline and a second core range coming out in 2022 – added to Jessica’s guest lecturing at Ravensbourne University: “It’s set to be a busy year,” she says.

Return to travel

London-based Luke Walsh also branched out on his own, setting up L W Design Consultancy last October, designing, developing and sourcing for clients, following years on the big-retailer circuit. “After working from home through the pandemic, I didn't want to go back to the normal ways of working, I wanted to work in a more dynamic way,” he says. “Don't get me wrong, I've really enjoyed my career to date and having the opportunity to work in Shanghai for Next Sourcing and in Hong Kong for Levi’s has been incredible. But now it's time to start something new.”

He is collaborating with Chinese mill Freedom Denim to help grow sales across the UK and EU market, working with the Shanghai research and development teams and the New York-based innovation department to launch products for autumn 2023. “It's been really exciting building the collection together, rebranding and working on new marketing strategies,” he says.

Mr Walsh has also collaborated with Next across denim and casuals, as well as Own, the new denim brand at Next, designing and sourcing the autumn-winter collection that will launch in September. “It's been a tough few years for everyone but what's exciting is the return to travel,” he adds. “I was recently in Turkey working on a new denim collection, which was fantastic. To be on the factory floor, working on new washes and developments again was so rewarding. Talking denim, seeing and touching denim makes me happy.”

Zero-waste approach

Janelle Hanna, founder of White Weft, will also be talking denim at her London studio as the host of The Ecosystem of a Jean, part of Fashion Revolution’s Open Studio programme, at the end of April. Through White Weft, she upcycles denim waste into new jeans, bags and accessories, and is also working on upcycled denim designs for a large retailer and a field-to-fabric denim project. “Much of my time is spent developing our designs and figuring out production – it's much more complicated than conventional products,” she explains. “We’ve also just launched a denim repair service which has had an incredible uptake.”

Five percent of sales from White Weft go towards helping the OR Foundation, which supports communities in Ghana, specifically the Kantamanto used clothing market in Accra. Here, traders gamble on buying bales of second-hand clothing with no idea of the quality and minimal chances of good returns. Around 40% of the clothing goes straight to landfill outside Accra, according to the foundation. “Some of the poorest, most vulnerable communities in the world are shouldering the burden of our fast-fashion waste,” says Ms Hanna. “My business is small but it's essential that we contribute to this work.”

Although small, word is growing, and new retailers are on board to stock White Weft products. “Sadly, the UK has lost most of its manufacturing capability and we're known mainly as a design and retail centre,” she comments. “But we're lucky to have a number of inspiring, community-minded denim brands like Blackhorse Lane and Hiut who are both blazing a trail for quality product, mindful consumption and ethical manufacture. I really hope that's what the UK denim industry will become renowned for and that White Weft will be a part of that.”

Real opportunity

In the same vein, Hiut has also now moved into the upcycling category – its latest range touted as its “most low impact yet”, crafted from leftover fabrics gathered over 15 months. For Clare Hieatt, the appearance of more small brands that are trying to make locally and sustainably, or that have positive messages, added to an increasing desire from consumers to find out how things are made, are all positive signs for the domestic industry. “One of the big issues will be finding an experienced and skilled workforce to make these products and training will be key to developing UK garment manufacturing,” she concludes. “But there’s a real opportunity here for business and government to work together to bring a maker culture back to the UK.”

At both ends of the spectrum – start-up or juggernaut – the passion for denim and knowledge of the trade is obvious and inspiring. And buoyed by a fresh wave of enthusiasm, new and younger designers and makers will inherit this knowledge and continue to weave the narrative of the UK’s varied denim landscape.

Hiut at home: The Welsh coastline provides a beautiful backdrop for the jeansmaker.
Photo: Andrew Paynter

Share this story: