The first-of-its-kind Fashtech Innovation Centre has just opened in London, aimed at bringing on-demand fashion and textile mass customisation to the UK.

The centre is housed at the training and manufacturing site of social enteprise Fashion-Enter and is fully supported by Kornit Digital direct-to-fabric and direct-to-garment digital production solutions.

In addition to highlighting production capabilities that minimise carbon footprint, the Fashtech Innovation Centre serves as a prototype for brands seeking to mitigate logistical complexities, time-to-market and supply chain risks by bringing production nearer to the end consumer. Eliminating overproduction and producing on demand, this nearshoring model drives profitability even in highly regulated and high-cost markets, while contributing to local economies and removing transport-related waste.

“As our partner ecosystem continues to grow globally by aligning with such leaders as Fashion-Enter, companies are realising just how powerful on-demand digital production can be and the countless inherent benefits it provides,” said Chris Govier, EMEA president at Kornit. “We are pleased to put these technologies on full display in our new joint Fashtech Innovation Centre and bring on-demand manufacturing back home to the UK. Whether you’re a brand, apparel provider, custom fabric fulfiller, or creative designer wondering how to handle the next major market disruption, grow product lines, create a more eco-responsible and accountable production floor – or just want to waste less – the Innovation Centre will help you achieve these goals.”

Serving as a fulfilment site and academy for training production, the centre includes both Presto direct-to-fabric and Atlas MAX direct-to-garment systems, as well as numerous graphic design and workflow tools and systems to enable cut-and-sew operations for a comprehensive “pixel to parcel to doorstep” cycle.

Consolidating the process into a single location helps maintain full visibility and control of operations and products. Taking this one step further, visitors can experience the KornitX Global Fulfilment Network, enabling customers to create both new sales channels and accessibility to enable production on demand. Attendees can see how Kornit’s single-step digital production technology empowers unlimited graphic expression using less floor space, resources, waste, and time – all at higher margins.

“This Innovation Centre makes it possible to capture the full, end-to-end production process in one, single location,” said Jenny Holloway, Fashion-Enter CEO. “The beauty of having print on demand means there are no minimums, so we can make one garment, or we can make up to 30,000 garments a week from all locations at the same fixed cost. Here, we can also train future generations on the right way of producing garments for today, responsive to demand, with minimal waste. This is the future of fashion and textiles.”

www.kornit.com