Celebrating 10 years of pioneering textile education inspired by His Majesty The King
The King’s Foundation is marking ten years of pioneering textiles education, inspired by the charity’s Royal Founding President, His Majesty The King, with a new exhibition at the Garrison Chapel, London. The Chapel is our exhibition space and regularly hosts showcases of work by students and alumni of The King’s Foundation, along with other special events.
Our Future Textiles programme was initiated by His Majesty The King at Dumfries House in 2014 to help address a skills gap within the UK fashion and textiles industry through education and training.
Through Future Textiles, The King’s Foundation offers a wide range of education and training programmes for people of all ages ranging from one-day sewing workshops that encourage young people to develop an awareness of the industry, through to international conferences which bring industry leaders together with emerging talent, and intensive full-time training programmes which give students the opportunity to produce garments by hand for the luxury fashion industry.
To date, more than 7,000 people have benefitted from Future Textiles at The King’s Foundation’s sites including Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Highgrove Gardens in Gloucestershire, and Trinity Buoy Wharf in London. Courses are run in collaboration with some of the industry’s most renowned brands, retailers and organisations including CHANEL, YOOX Net-a-Porter, Tencel, Fashion Council Germany, The Joseph Ettedgui Foundation, and The Worshipful Company of Weavers.
Last month, members of the charity’s Knitwise programme presented The King with a hand-knitted cake to celebrate a decade of Future Textiles at the charity’s annual graduation at Dumfries House. The cake will be on public display as part of the exhibition, alongside a range of garments produced by students and alumni over the last ten years. The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of James Sugden OBE, the renowned champion of British textiles who played a vital role in launching the initiative through his role as Chair of the Future Textiles Steering Group from 2014 until 2018.
“Future Textiles was initiated in 2014 after His Majesty The King, Royal Founding President of The King’s Foundation, convened an Industry Roundtable at Dumfries House to discuss the role education and training could play in helping to protect the hand-skills that underpin the UK fashion industry. “Initially, Future Textiles benefitted secondary school age pupils by introducing them to the beauty of making and ensuring they understood the technical sewing and craft processes that are so vital to responsible fashion design and manufacturing. Due to the incredible support of the industry and our partners, the programme grew rapidly and now offers a huge range of courses ranging from day workshops and weekly community groups, to full-time courses which provide students with the skills needed to start their own businesses and gain employment in the industry. “We are proud to count among our graduates talented artisans now making their mark in the fashion industry as key practitioners for some of the world’s best-known brands, and founders of businesses that promote sustainability through long-lasting, high-quality garments and products.”
Jacqueline Farrell, Education Director, The King’s Foundation
“Our pupils’ involvement with Future Textiles has been invaluable; they’ve learnt a variety of new skills and had the opportunity to meet with industry professionals who have given them insights into career opportunities in the fashion and textiles industry. The experiences they’ve had have inspired them to think about the possibilities that fashion and textiles could afford them.”
Lisa Campbell, a teacher at Firrhill High School in Edinburgh
