Manchester has always been a popular place for shoppers seeking top brands. But the city isalso home to small independent creatives making different choices in their clothing.
Sustainable fashion has gained popularity over recent years – with a trend known as ‘slow fashion’ emerging.
Like the name suggests, slow fashion is based on quality and durability, rather than rapidly producing on-trend garments that aren’t necessarily made to last.
Slow fashion brands aim to create clothing that will last for a lifetime in your wardrobe, but they are also kinder to the environment and factory workers in the process.
If you still consider Manchester as something of a fast fashion capital, it’s worth checking out these brands doing amazing work for sustainability in the city.
Phloem was established in 2019, after founders spent a summer travelling through Norway and Sweden while being immersed in nature.
The owners brought this newfound interest in the environment back to Manchester, establishing a fashion brand that is actively campaigning for change and remains dedicated to creating organic, sustainable and ethical garments.
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“It’s become increasingly urgent that something is done to try and tackle the environmental impact that our fashion industry currently has,” says Phloem.
“We have done everything we can to ensure that the production of our garments limits their impact on the environment, and each piece of clothing last for years to come.”
There’s a common misconception that slow fashion pieces are only to be worn on special occasions or important events, but Nemcee is combatting this with everyday clothing options.
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Nemcee is a slow, unisex brand that makes a variety of clothes to ‘go out and live your life in’, opting for timeless pieces that you will love regardless of the season.
Everything is made to order right here in Manchester, too – which limits waste.
Nemcee also strived to support the frontline during the pandemic, launching the ‘Do Good Project’ to assist with the shortage of scrubs available for NHS workers.
The Bee Thrive was created in response to what founders believe is a broken fashion industry – creating high quality garments made to last, without style being compromised.
The brand is radically transparent and determined to use the platform to enact change within the industry.
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“We are unapologetically political,” says the brand
“And [we] use our brand voice to support women’s rights, garment workers’ rights, environmental sustainability and climate restoration.”
Bee Thrive garments are tailored to the exact needs of the UK’s women, whether that is in the workplace or whilst working from home.
Style
Manchester City finally release special Year of the Horse collection for Lunar celebrations
Danny Jones
Manchester City have officially launched their new ‘Year of the Horse’ kit, along with several other items in their latest lifestyle range.
The collection, which has been released as part of the Lunar New Year Celebrations, was leaked online in late 2025 before being officially teased earlier this year, but now Man City have fully unveiled the limited edition clothing items.
It follows the commercial success of their previous Chinese New Year-inspired kits and wider fashion lines over the last few seasons.
For anyone not up to speed on their Zodiac calendar knowledge, 2026 is officially (you guessed it) the year of the horse, hence this choice for the new ‘Capsule Collection’.
“Set in earthy, neutral tones, the limited-edition Year of the Horse Capsule Collection captures both the stillness of vintage Chinese portraiture and the motion of a team in full stride.”
Revolving around a grey and almost beige colour palette, the full drop includes a new pre-match ‘Anthem’ jacket, a dark graphic design tee, a baseball cap, as well as a soft horse plushie.
The focal point, however, is obviously the jersey itself – though it remains to be confirmed whether or not the special seasonal strip will be worn in any games this campaign as other one-off/special limited edition shirts have been in the past.
The price points range from £15 for the soft toy to £90 for the adult shirt, with the aforementioned Puma KING Anthem zip-up jacket already available in six colours.
What do you make of the latest lifestyle collection, Blues?
Somewhat fittingly, the Year of the Horse and other items finally debuted on the same day that their local rivals across the other side of town, Manchester United, released some new threads of their own: the second Adidas x The Stone Roses collection.
As for this years Lunar celebrations, the official plans for here in Manchester city centre have now been revealed. You can find out more down below.
Manchester United officially launch second Adidas fashion collab with The Stone Roses
Danny Jones
After several weeks of teasers, the latest fashion collab between Adidas, Manchester United and The Stone Roses has officially revealed.
We have no doubt this one will be lapped up just as quickly as the first.
Following images of the new Stone Roses x Man United kit and the focal point of this new collection being leaked online earlier this month, the second drop by Adidas has now been unveiled in full.
Releasing another stylistic video to the tune of the legendary Manc band’s famous anthem, ‘I Wanna Be Adored’, players both past and present from the men’s and women’s team star in the launch video.
As you can see, not only did the players get involved with the shoot as expected, but the clip also includes a snippet of archive footage featuring a young Ian Brown in a short but profound talking head.
The Stone Roses frontman, and indeed other members of the band, have never made their love of United a secret – none more so than the late, great Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield – and the supporters have also shared plenty of it back.
Be it through ‘This Is The One’ being chosen by Gary Neville as the official walk-out song at Old Trafford and various chants sung to Stone Roses tunes, to the previous collab back in February 2024, the two iconic cultural brands pretty much go hand in hand.
Besides the next multi-coloured paint-splashed shirt, which leaked first, as well as a new bucket hat (again, very era appropriate), there are scarves, a graphic design t-shirt, two sets of shorts and even two different pairs of shoes.
Images of the white Stone Roses trainers also popped up in leaks across various Man United fan accounts on social media, but few had seen the black ZX 600 Adidas trainers until now.
What do you make of the latest batch of lifestyle fashion from the club?
Meanwhile, with just days left in the transfer window, it remains to be seen whether new interim manager Michael Carrick will be rewarded for his first two wins against the top two in the league with any reinforcements before the end of January – but there are some rumblings…
Daisy Bradbury -
29th January 2021 
