Source Fashion and Fashion-Enter will stage Made in Manchester & Regions at Manchester Hall on 4 November 2026, opening a programme of regional roadshows designed to connect buyers, brands and retailers directly with UK manufacturers.

The event is free to attend and open to the trade. It follows three Leicester Made events and forms part of Source Fashion's wider push to champion British production capacity.

The backdrop is commercial, not promotional. Continued volatility across global supply chains is pushing brands and retailers to reassess resilience, flexibility and proximity in their supplier mixes. UK manufacturers, meanwhile, are absorbing rising costs, tighter margins and pressure on capacity and skills — pressures that surface in negotiations over pricing, MOQs, lead times and long-term supplier relationships.

The programme will confront a central question for the tier-one and tier-two sourcing decision: what will it actually take to accelerate reindustrialisation of UK fashion and textile manufacturing? Organisers say the event will move past ambition and examine the barriers preventing more orders from reaching British factories, the role of public procurement, and how domestic manufacturers can compete on speed, flexibility, quality, sustainability and customer proximity rather than cost alone.

A major thread will help brands and retailers build a boardroom-ready business case for UK production. With sourcing decisions under scrutiny on cost, margin, risk and long-term growth, sessions will address how localised production fits into a balanced supplier mix and how its benefits translate into the language finance directors accept.

Suzanne Ellingham, event director of Source Fashion, framed visibility — not price — as the primary obstacle.

"One of the biggest barriers retailers and brands face when it comes to working with UK-based manufacturers isn't always cost, but visibility: who to work with and who is left?" she said. "This event is aimed at bringing the industry together and shining a light on local capabilities and arm buyers with the insight and clear rationale as to why in an era of incredible volatility, localised production makes sense as part of a balanced supplier mix. We are also taking this opportunity to bring together all the key industry stakeholders who are coming together to force change and create a unified voice that will demand government support for this sector."

Jenny Holloway, chair of the Association of Manufacturers of Fashion & Textiles (ATMF) and founder of Fashion-Enter, pointed to political backing in the host city.

"Made in Manchester & Regions is a new way forward for manufacturers today. Based on the last three successful Leicester Made events, the show promises to be the best inspiring networking event yet," she said. "It's perfect timing to be hosting this event in Manchester with our PM Andy Burnham strongly endorsing the re-industrialisation and restoring of public procurement contacts."

The Manchester date is the first stop in a wider regional programme. The UK manufacturing conversation continues at Source Fashion at ExCeL London from 19–21 January 2027, before the roadshow moves to Scotland in Q1 2027. Further regional events will follow as Source Fashion and Fashion-Enter deepen connections across the UK manufacturing ecosystem.

For sourcing teams, the immediate decision is whether to attend and map domestic capacity against current offshore allocations. The longer one is harder: whether UK factories can earn a durable place in supplier mixes on lead time, flexibility and MOQ terms — or remain a resilience option that never converts into firm orders.