Farfetch accelerator to focus on sustainability as Stella McCartney joins

Dream Assembly, the start-up accelerator from global fashion platform Farfetch, is switching its attention to sustainability for its next intake and has revealed that Stella McCartney will join Burberry as one of the scheme's business partners.

For its second year the scheme is inviting applications from start-ups, which are still at the seed stage of their development and have a strong social or environmental focus. They do not have to have a fashion focus yet but have solutions that could be applied to the fashion industry.

“We’re looking to find for-profit companies with a mission around sustainability, or that promote social good and community values," said Farfetch chief strategy officer Stephanie Phair.

Dream Assembly is a 10-week programme that includes workshops, one-to-one sessions with senior leaders from Farfetch and its partners, as well as mentorship meetings on topics such as e-commerce, marketing, logistics and operations.

At the end of the process those businesses chosen to proceed to the next stage are invited to pitch to a panel to receive funding for their development. As part of Dream Assembly, start-ups receive €30,000 in a convertible note from Farfetch to help cover operating costs and expenses.

Last year 11 start-ups from around the world took part in the programme including: Fashpa from Nigeria, which connects consumers with brands and boutiques selling sustainable merchandise; Footsy from Canada, a mobile app that offers personalised footwear; and Hong Kong’s pre-owned luxe bag specialist Upteam.

Applications for this year's programme close on 3 March and more information can be found on the Dream Assembly website.