John Smedley reopens for third-party manufacturing for first time in 40 years
British heritage knitwear brand John Smedley, which celebrates its 240th anniversary this year, is reopening its factory for third-party manufacturing for the first time in more than 40 years.
Working in partnership with The Board of Trade, the British Fashion Council and the UK Fashion and Textiles Association, reopening production lines to brands for seasonal orders is a strategic initiative by John Smedley encouraging brands to bring knitwear manufacturing back to UK shores.
By boosting the factory’s output, it will also "futureproof the company and proudly support local jobs", at a time when the fashion industry’s move towards provenance and traceability gathers pace, as does the sourcing of raw materials in the UK.
Ian Maclean, Managing Director of John Smedley, said: "John Smedley is spending upwards of £3 million to install cutting edge Shima Seiki machinery in its factories. It’s a generational change in its manufacturing capabilities, enabling us to serve our own needs, and those of our clients.
"Brands internationally can work with John Smedley as partners and benefit from our skills and experience, honed over generations. Our commitment to responsible manufacturing makes our proposition good for brands, good for the world, good for everybody."
The production schedule is open to brands from April 2024 for the forthcoming SS25 season, and British brand DAKS has already committed to bringing its manufacturing back to the UK in partnership with John Smedley.
A 12-piece knitwear collection, launching for SS25, will be made at John Smedley under a collaborative label. It is "a celebration of heritage meets innovation on British soil".
By reopening its third-party production schedule, John Smedley hopes to inspire more brands to make goods closer to home.
In the 1980s, prior to the manufacturing exodus that saw many companies move to offshore production in the Far East, the firm created knitwear for luxury labels including Burberry, Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood.
Based at Lea Mills in Derbyshire since 1784, John Smedley is the oldest, still-operational knitwear maker in the world. Awarded two Royal Warrants, the company specialises in extra fine Merino wool, Sea Island cotton and cashmere, and is renowned globally for its craftsmanship and commitment to quality.
Many of its craftsmen have been employed by the factory for decades, offering unrivalled expertise on British soil for third-party brands. The spectrum of manufacturing ranges from fine, 19-micron gauge knitwear to chunky fisherman sweaters.
This year, a further £1.5 million will be invested by John Smedley to conclude renovations on its existing manufacturing site.
This includes a large expansion of its design and new product development team - particularly investing in new technology to programme and develop designs. It also includes relocating and expanding its wash and dyehouse functions. Brands can choose from more than 70 fibre and colour combinations each season.
John Smedley’s on-site dyehouse promises to offer unlimited possibilities in terms of colour development. A pioneering new programme, launched in partnership with Yorkshire-based textile recycling mill, iinouiio, will turn waste yarns into new ones.
The new fully recycled and recyclable fibres will launch first on the John Smedley channels from October 2024 and will be made available to external brands from the AW25 season onwards.
