Innovation Summit: Fashion
Bringing innovation and industry together to accelerate sustainable transformation in fashion.
The Fashion Innovation Summit is an in-person one-day event designed to spark meaningful connections between high-potential startups and some of the UK’s most influential fashion brands.
Through curated pitches, challenge-led conversations, and facilitated matchmaking, this is a space to cut through traditional procurement hurdles and get straight to the heart of impactful collaboration. Whether you're innovating in materials, traceability, or circular models, the Summit is a launchpad for partnerships that drive real-world change.
About the Summit
The Fashion Innovation Summit connects startups and corporates around one shared ambition: to create a more sustainable, circular fashion future.
With access to decision-makers from fashion brands, you'll have the chance to present your solution, gain feedback, gain insights into brand needs and ways or working, and explore partnership opportunities all without commercial risk or lengthy procurement cycles.
Startups will be selected based on their relevance to industry challenges, ability to scale, and readiness to engage in strategic conversations. If you're working on technology or systems that can meaningfully shift the sector - from recycled textiles to digital passports - this summit is for you.
Why Join the Fashion Innovation Summit?
Pitch with purpose:
Learn how to pitch to corporates and shape your solution for industry adoption.
Fast-track insight:
Understand what brands really need. Join roundtables, share your tech story, and get clear signals on what to do next.
Co-create the future:
Play an active role in shaping fashion’s transition by contributing to open challenge areas and influencing industry priorities.
Build credibility:
Being selected to attend positions your business as high-potential and market-ready, opening doors to follow-up conversations, pilots, and investor interest.
Key Elements
Challenge-Led Conversations
Hear directly from fashion brands about their sustainability pain points and share how your solution aligns.
Startup Pitches
Deliver a short, high-impact pitch to a handpicked audience of innovation teams and partners.
Matchmaking
Get introduced to the right people, with sessions designed for shared learning and next steps.
Roundtables & Insight Sharing
Demystify collaboration barriers and discover how startups are navigating supply chain engagement, procurement, and scale.
Pilot Pathways
Where there’s alignment, explore the potential for pilot projects or longer-term partnerships with corporate teams.
For more infomation visit Mayor of London and GOV.
The people I have met here make it a dream coming in a few times a week! I don't see myself being able to go back to working from home the same way I did before coming to Plus X Innovation, I don't think I could leave the sense of community behind. It really is something everyone who is working from home should try!
Central Research Laboratory has contributed to our journey in many ways: access to a network, manufacturing, procurement services, and workshop facilities. CRL enables us to feel like a slightly bigger company than we would otherwise be if left to our own devices. Being here at CRL as a cohort member, makes it feel a lot more real and plugged in into the ecosystem.
Besides the workshop facilities, the best thing about working in the Brighton hub has got to be being able to collaborate with people in the same building as you. The variety of expertise and experience in the building is awesome.
We could not be in a better place to grow as a company. We get amazing support from the Plus X Innovation staff, plus collaboration opportunities with the other inspiring residents and companies. We feel like we’re living in the future of workplaces in the present and that is pretty damn cool.
Through my time at Plus X Innovation my business has turned from a student project into a registered R&D company. My favourite thing about being at Plus X Brighton is having a mini family in the office and a beautiful space to be the best you and make the best connections.
Who It’s For
We’re seeking London-based startups and scaleups developing practical, scalable solutions to fashion’s most pressing challenges, including:
- Next-gen materials (bio-based, regenerative, recycled textiles)
- Circular models (reuse, repair, resale, rental)
- Supply chain transparency (digital passports, impact tracking, blockchain)
- End-of-life systems (closed-loop recycling, take-back infrastructure)
- Enabling technologies (on-demand manufacturing, forecasting tools, digital twins)
Eligibility
• Your company must be registered or operating in London
• Participating in this activity contributes to your Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) allowance. Your business must have not exceeded maximum level of Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) which is maximum of £315,000 in any 3-year period.
• You must have a relevant product, service, or technology aligned with the themes above
• You should be ready to engage in B2B conversations, with a tested prototype or early traction
• You must be available to attend the event in person in November 2025
Apply for the Fashion Innovation Summit
Join a network of innovators shaping the future of sustainable fashion and connect with the brands ready to make it happen.
Spaces are limited, and startups will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Apply early to be considered
