As London rents continue to sky-rocket beyond all fathomable proportions, there has been a fashion casualty: the much-loved London Fields branch of The Trampery.
The social enterprise, which creates beautiful working environments for creative start-ups and fledgling designers, has had to abandon its 'fashion incubator' residence on Mare Street, Hackney because the rent is set to rise in September – by 400%.
Lou Dalton, James Long and Charlie May are among the many talented desingers who have been supported by the initiative (which opened less than two years ago) and who will now have to find a new office. But the question on everyone's lips is – where?
The Trampery Founder, sociologist and entrepreneur Charles Armstrong, says, 'We’re scouring London for a new building of at least 10,000 square feet where we can relocate the fashion incubator. Several agents are assisting us with this. At the same time we’re calling out to large fashion businesses who have 1,000 square feet of unused space where we can create pop-up studios.'
The unused space for pop-ups will largely focus on emerging designers, and any cooperating businesses will be given a 'shortlist' of applicants to have final say on who gets access.
The larger space (10,000-30,000 square feet) has a few more conditions. It needs good light (for obvious reasons), it must be located in Central London (no further than Zone 2), have a 5-year lease at least, and be a reasonable price to rent. Any ideas?
'The response from the fashion industry has been phenomenal,' reveals Armstrong. 'It’s heartening to discover how much support there is for what The Trampery's doing. The British Fashion Council has been a wonderful ally, and the Duke of York is also giving us terrific support as our patron.'
'Places like The Trampery will soon be the only way an emerging businesses can remain in London,' he continues. 'That’s a worrying situation for the city’s future. We’re continuing to establish new facilities as fast as we can.'
He concludes, 'We’d love to hear from anyone who can help us continue to provide affordable studios for the most talented young labels.'
If you are one of those people, we implore you to get in touch.