Make Works – Norway, Sweden and Denmark
The recent interest in the ‘origin of production’ has once again brought Nordic textile and garment production into play. This turn towards local production is motivated by an increasing demand for flexible and socially and environmentally sustainable production as well as a growing desire for uniqueness and national identity in a globalised market.
While the last few decades of intense outsourcing have left the Nordic region with a limited number of textile and garment production facilities, highly skilled manufacturers remain, who are dedicated to grow and keep the craftsmanship alive and curious to experiment with and transformation towards new production methods and opportunities.
“In view of how the global market is developing, as well as changes in value chains and digital business models, local expertise and access to production capacity will be crucial success factors in the development of a future fashion and textile industry in the Nordic region.” -Gisle Mariani Mardal, Design and Brand Manager, Abelia.
MAKES is a collaborative project that aims to map and showcase production opportunities within the textile and fashion industry across the Nordic countries. Based on this, we aim to bridge the current gap between design-led brands and production in order to realise new business opportunities across the textile and fashion value chain.
According to Ivan Sinding, TS Strik, such mapping and collaboration will benefit manufacturers and brands alike. On the one hand, manufacturers can collaborate, for example, sharing and exchanging spare parts or yarn and joining forces on different orders. On the other hand, designers will get a better overview of where they can source knitwear and jersey and where they can get print and embroidery done, locally. Increasingly, local production brings about a competitive advantage in a globalised market. The Norwegian fashion industry, for example, sees a strong international interest in products, not only designed but also “Made in Norway”, especially in important markets such as Asia and the United States.
To read more about the collaborative project between L&D Cluster, Norwegian Fashion Hub and Nordiska Textilakademin, click here.
