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£693,000 Investment through Second Innovation Funding Call

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Future Fashion Factory News
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Yorkshire textile mills, independent fashion brands and manufacturers have all been successful in our second innovation funding call, securing more than £693,000 investment in research and development (R&D) for the industry. 

The successful projects will enable businesses to access the expertise of Future Fashion Factory researchers at the University of Leeds, University of Huddersfield, and Royal College of Art.

Our funding calls see companies collaborating with researchers to tackle major challenges.

Seven of the nine successful projects are being announced today:

Weaving machines at AW Hainsworth
  • Building a digital data archive of historic fabric designs (Abraham Moon & Sons, Guiseley) 
  • Developing a predictive model to determine the right-first-time settings for weaving high-value fabrics based on the fabric specification (Bower Roebuck, Holmfirth) 
  • Wireless 3D-zoned heaters that can be printed onto garments (Conductive Transfers, Barnsley) 
  • Finding a second life for automotive leather in the fashion industry (HSSMI, London) 
  • Exploring immersive communication techniques to support growth of independent fashion brands (Nomad Designerwear, Barnsley) 
  • Identifying digital technologies to upscale hand-crafted garment production (Something Wicked, Leeds) 
  • Detecting weft misalignment in the fabric finishing process with an intelligent sensory system (WT Johnson, Huddersfield) 

“Collaboration is crucial to address the challenges faced by the fashion and textile industry,” says Professor Stephen Russell, Future Fashion Factory’s Director.

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

“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 in a changing global landscape, creating value and ultimately driving economic growth.” 

Garments made in New Heritage Cloth at Future Fashion Factory showcase
AW Hainsworth’s ‘New Heritage’ cloth was created as part of a Call 1 funded project

In August 2019 we announced that nine projects had been approved as part of Innovation Funding Call 1, representing over £645,000 investment. These projects are either in delivery or complete, and we will be publishing more information on them over the coming months.

We are set to launch our third call on 30 April, and businesses of all sizes and specialisms working in the fashion and textile industry are eligible to apply. To find out more and share your ideas, please get in touch with the team.