FUTURE Fashion Factory has welcomed the 500th member of its fashion and textile industry network with the addition of a Saltaire firm.

The Stitch Society, based at Salts Mill, designs and manufactures comfortable and durable artisan workwear on site using fabrics sourced within the UK.

Charlotte Meek, from The Stitch Society, said: “We are delighted to be the 500th member of Future Fashion Factory as this will allow us to expand our business through networking and collaboration with other members, as well as exploring opportunities to develop new products.”

Future Fashion Factory is part of the Creative Industries Clusters Programme, an £80 million initiative led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The Programme is led by the University of Leeds in partnership with the University of Huddersfield and Royal College of Art.

From 10 core industry partners in October 2018, Future Fashion Factory’s network has now expanded to 500 businesses and other industry organisations across the UK, from independent fashion designers to major technology providers and fabric and garment manufacturers.

Among the members to have joined recently are LaundRE, a startup establishing a denim reprocessing centre in the UK; Bristol textile design studio Dash and Miller; and fashion designer Phoebe English.