The Return of Manchester Fashion Week
After a ten-year hiatus, Manchester Fashion Week is making a bold comeback this autumn, reimagined for a new era where fashion, culture, and innovation collide. From September 9th to 11th, the city that once dressed the world will once again become the epicentre of visionary style — with a lineup as powerful as its industrial past and as forward-thinking as its creative future.
The revival arrives at a pivotal time, as Manchester’s £12bn fashion economy grapples with global challenges — from sustainability and tech disruption to shifting cultural relevance. Yet, in true Mancunian style, this isn’t just a comeback. It’s a recalibration.
Set in the heart of the city’s buzzing St. John’s neighbourhood — with the newly refurbished Campfield as its official hub — Manchester Fashion Week promises more than just runway glamour. It’s designed as a cultural catalyst, uniting emerging designers, heritage brands, and radical changemakers in a three-day celebration of fashion’s new frontier.
The event is backed by Eco Age — the influential fashion media platform and consultancy known for pushing the sustainability conversation forward — and will be led by a dream team of fashion pioneers. Among them are Carry Somers, Founder of the global movement Fashion Revolution, and Safia Minney, MBE, award-winning social entrepreneur and founder of People Tree, one of the world’s first fairtrade fashion brands.
“Manchester has always led — in music, in manufacturing, in movements. And now, it’s time to lead again by future-proofing fashion from the ground up,” says Gemma Gratton, Executive Producer of Manchester Fashion Week. “This isn’t just a celebration of style — it’s about people, purpose, and progress.”
Echoing that sentiment, Eco Age CEO John Higginson added, “Manchester is Britain’s fashion mecca. Where else do you go where everyone walks around as if they’re always on a catwalk? But there’s a fight between flimsy fast fashion and the beautiful things you want to keep forever. Manchester Fashion Week is all about future fashion — forever fashion.”
Each day of the three-day showcase will focus on a core theme — Heritage & Future-Proof, Health & Wellness, and Tech & Innovation — connecting the threads between craft, consciousness, and cutting-edge ideas. From heritage mills to AI-enhanced textiles, the program will dive into what’s next, without forgetting what came before.
Beyond the runway, the city will come alive with public events, creative activations, and cross-industry collaborations, transforming Manchester into a vibrant fashion hub. From honest dialogue to radical experimentation, the week is set to spark much-needed conversations across the style spectrum.
And with the BRIT Awards also heading to Manchester next year — the first time in its 48-year history that it will be hosted outside London — the city is fast cementing itself as Britain’s cultural capital once again.
“This isn’t just Manchester’s moment. It’s Manchester fashion’s reset,” organisers said. “And it starts here — right from the root.”
