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John Smedley x Katharine Hamnett collaboration to support manufacturing apprenticeships

15/09/2021

UKFT member John Smedley has launched a limited edition collection with Katharine Hamnett London to champion sustainable British design.

John Smedley

John Smedley’s ethos has always had sustainable design and practices at its forefront and who better to celebrate this with than the original fashion pioneer Katharine Hamnett?

Together, they have crafted an exclusive capsule collection featuring the slogan ‘Choose Slow’, that is designed to ask consumers to assess where and from whom they buy their clothing from, shifting focus from fast to slow fashion.

John Smedley

This timeless collection of 7 pieces including extra fine merino wool knitwear, accessories and 100% organic tees, priced from £55 to £220, will be exclusively available at John Smedley stores, www.johnsmedley.com and www.katharinehamnett.com.

20% of all profits from the collection sold at John Smedley stores will be donated to the UKFT to further apprenticeships across the UK manufacturing and fashion industries.

“I have worked with John Smedley off and on since the 1980s, I have always loved the quality of what they do,” said Katharine Hamnett. “They are one of the few remaining mills that still produce a great, quintessentially British and traditional product at its best.”

John Smedley

John Smedley’s brand director Jess Mcguire-Dudley said: “Katharine has been a pioneer of ethical practices, challenging the status quo of the fashion industry and beyond for decades. She is a personal hero of mine and it’s a great privilege to have worked with her to design this collaborative collection. Our aims are to engage customers once again with slow fashion, urging them to understand and value British manufacturing, high quality, traceable fibres and the real people behind our products.”

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John Smedley is a UKFT member. Interested in membership? Find out more HERE.