The Mills Fabrica, a landmark platform for advanced sustainable innovations opens its doors in London’s King’s Cross this month.

As second outpost of The Mills, the Hong Kong-based regeneration project, the London opening marks a new cross-continental chapter in the global journey to drive a more sustainable future.

The Mills stems from the Nan Fung Group’s textile legacy in Hong Kong, which at its height grew to become one of the largest spinning mills in the 1950s. Today, The Mills Fabrica makes a leap forward into the wider intersection between tech and lifestyle.

It will spearhead sustainable innovation and creativity to redefine the realms of how things are grown, made, moved and disposed of and what is worn and eaten. The Mills Fabrica is set to become a vibrant player advancing regenerative solutions for generations to come in the heart of London.

Housed within a three-storey Victorian warehouse designed by architects Barr Gazetas, The Mills Fabrica encompasses Fabrica X, an experiential concept store and innovation gallery for sustainable brands, a café by Mouse Tail Coffee, membership-led work spaces, a tech lab for prototyping, a powerful start-up incubation programme and curated events dedicated to nurturing a community of sustainable  innovators.

Startups

The Mills Fabrica’s investment fund has a vested interest in over 25 startups – collectively valued at over a billion dollars – tackling systemic issues at the material level, within the supply chain and all the way down to the business models in need of driving better environmental, societal and governance outputs.

Notable portfolio companies include garment fibre recycling pioneer Renewcell, Geltor a biodesign company developing collagen-based vegan ingredients for the beauty industry, and Abillion, a social media platform for conscious consumers.

Located on the ground floor, Fabrica X, will showcase the latest fashion and food tech innovations, each heralding biodiverse material use, minimal waste and ethical production whilst empowering customers to make design-led, responsible purchases.

Designed by landscape architect Wayward, immersive installations invite visitors to experience the UK’s first 3D body scanning technology to create custom-fit denim by Unspun, upcycled trainers by Italy-based Womsh, brought to life from apple skin, organic cotton and water bottles collected from Waes – the world’s first plastic-free footwear brand.

Vertical farming units growing fresh herbs and fruit will be harvested and used in the kitchen of the ground-floor café, Mouse Tail.

Across the upper floors, membership-only and flexible office spaces are available, from floating and fixed desks to permanent office residences for tenants with lounge access to bring together thinkers, creators and entrepreneurs united in their pursuit of a sustainable future.

Emerging start-ups revolutionising food and fashion tech will be supported by its incubator programme and will also inhabit the space. They include Colorifix, the first company to use a biological process to produce and deposit pigments onto textiles, luxury second-hand marketplace Reflaunt, and Provenance, a software solution for sustainably transparent communications enabling brands to communicate social and environmental impact with shoppers online and in stores.

Members, incubatees and tenants will enjoy curated events, networking opportunities and use of Fabrica Lab – a high-tech space for bringing revolutionary ideas to life with prototyping equipment.

“I can’t be more thrilled that the second outpost of The Mills Fabrica in London is a reality,” said Vanessa Cheung, founder of The Mills Fabrica  “It could not have happened without all the support and guidance from our partners and community from all around the world. We’re confident that having a hub in London’s King’s Cross can only catalyze our mission to drive a resilient and  positive future with an ecosystem of  innovators, collaborators and passionate souls.”

The Mills Fabrica London is located at Cottam House, 36-40 York Way, King’s Cross, N1 9AB, London

www.themillsfabrica.com