The London Textile Fair

What The London Textile Fair does

The London Textile Fair (TLTF) is a privately held B2B trade exhibition organized by KelleyKo Ltd, founded in 2008 by John Kelley and held biannually at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. The event connects approximately 350 international textile manufacturers, fabric mills, accessory suppliers, print studios, vintage archives, and garment manufacturers from 20+ countries with UK-based fashion brands, retailers, and designers. The platform serves as the UK's largest centralized textile sourcing marketplace, attracting roughly 3,000-5,000 professional visitors per edition, of whom approximately 95% are UK-based and include buyers from major retailers such as Next, Marks & Spencer, ASOS, John Lewis, Ted Baker, Burberry, Selfridges, Harrods, and Primark.

The business operates with a lean 11-person organizing team led by the Kelley family and generates revenue primarily through exhibition stand fees charged to exhibitors, supplemented by catalogue listings, online directory presence, and promotional inclusions. The platform has limited technology infrastructure beyond a WordPress-based website, online registration portals for visitors and exhibitors, and thetextiledirectory.co.uk (an online exhibitor directory providing year-round virtual browsing). The core offering is physical exhibition space allocation, with no proprietary technology, AI/ML, or digital marketplace features.

Over time the portfolio has expanded beyond the core TLTF event into sub-brands and dedicated halls: TexPremium (a 2022 luxury fabrics event at One Marylebone), the Garment Manufacturing Hall (September 2024), the Make it British Live! hall (2026) for UK manufacturers, and the Design Vision Seminar Programme and Trendhub (2022). The company has deepened international sourcing supply through partnerships with country-level export associations (ITHIB Turkey, Taiwan Textile Federation, ATP Portugal, KTC Korea, Texfor Spain, Tengda China) and a media partner network spanning UK and international fashion trade press. In 2026, the fair announced a calendar restructuring, moving from September to July dates to align with the international fashion sourcing calendar.

Name

The London Textile Fair

Legal name

KelleyKo Ltd

Website

https://thelondontextilefair.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The London Textile Fair (TLTF) is a privately held B2B trade exhibition, founded in 2008 and held biannually at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. It connects roughly 350 international textile manufacturers and suppliers with UK fashion brands, retailers, and designers through a centralized sourcing platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Exhibition / Textile Sourcing Event

NAICS

Sewing, Needlework, and Piece Goods Retailers (459130)

SIC

Wholesale-Apparel, Piece Goods & Notions (5130)

akta.pro primary industry

Apparel & Textile Wholesale Marketplaces (CRAFAHAI)

Keywords

• Textile trade exhibition
• Fashion fabric sourcing
• B2B trade show
• Apparel sourcing fair
• Garment manufacturing event

Headquarters

HQ city

London

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Exhibition Stand Fees: The primary revenue stream comes from charging exhibitors for stand space at the trade fair. Exhibitors pay for stand allocation which includes table, chairs, table cloth, company profile in catalogue and online listing, and social media promotion. There is also a waiting list indicating strong demand for exhibition space.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The London Textile Fair is a B2B trade-only exhibition held twice a year at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, showcasing approximately 350 international textile exhibitors — including fashion fabric mills, apparel accessory suppliers, print studios, vintage archives, and garment manufacturers — to UK-based fashion brands, retailers, designers, and buyers. The company sells exhibition stand space to suppliers and provides a centralized sourcing platform with supporting digital services such as registration portals and an online exhibitor directory. Revenue is generated primarily through exhibitor stand fees.

Product overview

The London Textile Fair operates as a B2B trade exhibition platform with its core product being the biennial TLTF event at the Business Design Centre in London, showcasing fashion fabrics, accessories, print design, vintage archives, and garments from approximately 350 international exhibitors. The portfolio includes TexPremium (a luxury-focused sister event), the Make it British Live! hall (dedicated to UK manufacturers), the Design Vision Seminar Programme (educational talks on trends and design), and Trend Directions Reports (seasonal forecasting). Supporting digital products include visitor and exhibitor registration platforms and an online exhibitors directory accessible at thetextiledirectory.co.uk.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TexPremium: A luxury fabrics and accessories show launched in 2022, organized by the same team behind The London Textile Fair.

Products and services

• The London Textile Fair (TLTF) The UK's largest biannual trade exhibition for fashion fabrics, apparel accessories, print studios, vintage archives, and garment manufacturers. Held in January and July at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, it features around 350 international exhibitors and attracts 3,000–5,000 professional visitors per edition. Open exclusively to trade professionals.
• TexPremium A specialised luxury fabrics and accessories event organised by the team behind The London Textile Fair, featuring carefully selected exhibitors and spaces at One Marylebone, London. Targeted at luxury fashion buyers and premium textile mills.
• Make it British Live! A dedicated hall within The London Textile Fair showcasing UK garment, accessory and homeware manufacturers, enabling visitors to find suppliers for an entirely British supply chain. Operated in partnership with Make it British (founded by Kate Hills).
• Online Exhibitors Directory

Quantifiable outcome

• 350 international exhibitors per edition
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers57 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and media.

• The ColourfulcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrend forecasting agency providing seminar program content for the show. The Colourful hosts 'Design Vision' series of talks about colour, design, materiality and creativity.
• Unique Style PlatformcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrend forecasting studio collaborating with The Colourful to present 'The Big Picture A/W 27/28' seminar presentations at the show.
• Make it BritishcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDedicated hall within TLTF featuring UK garment, accessory and homeware manufacturers. Founded by Kate Hills, the partnership brings UK manufacturing expertise to the show.
• ITHIB (Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Turkish textile exporters with over 7000 members. Supports Turkish exhibitors at the show and promotes Turkish textile industry internationally.
• Taiwan Textile FederationmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerPromotes Taiwan's textile industry internationally and organizes Taiwanese participation at the fair.
• ATP (Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents the Portuguese textile and fashion supply chain, promoting innovation and sustainability.
• Texfor (The Textile Industry Confederation, Spain)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerRepresents Spanish textile companies and promotes 'Textiles from Spain' brand internationally.
• KTC (Korea Textile Centre)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerPublic non-profit organization promoting Korean textile manufacturers' export interests.
• Tengda ExhibitionmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerOrganizes Chinese textile companies' participation in international trade fairs, part of Shanghai Textile Association.
• DrapersmediaGTM or Marketing PartnerLeading UK fashion industry publication, providing media coverage and industry recognition.
• La SpolamediaGTM or Marketing PartnerItalian textile industry publication covering fashion-textiles fairs and trends.
• CollezionimediaGTM or Marketing PartnerComprehensive textile preview magazine covering trends, yarns, fabrics and accessories.
• Apparel InsidermediaGTM or Marketing PartnerTrade publication focusing on financial and sustainability issues in the global apparel sector.
• Ecotextile NewsmediaGTM or Marketing PartnerPublication dedicated to reducing textile environmental impact and covering sustainability compliance.
• Fashion NetworkmediaGTM or Marketing PartnerBusiness information site for fashion professionals with newsletters in 10 languages and 800,000+ subscribers.
• Textile ViewmediaGTM or Marketing PartnerIndustry publication recognized as the 'bible' of the textile industry with worldwide reputation for fashion prediction.
• WTiN (World Textile Information Network)mediaGTM or Marketing PartnerInformation provider delivering intelligence on global textile manufacturing industry.
• Fiber2FashionmediaGTM or Marketing PartnerLeading B2B marketplace serving textile, fashion and apparel industry with presence in 190+ countries.
• TrendHubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrend forecasting partner curating the trends area and seminar program at the show, providing commercial and tangible trend directions.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Texfusion: London-based textile and accessories trade fair. Most direct UK competitor to TLTF, targeting similar fashion fabric and accessory suppliers with overlap in exhibitor and buyer pools.
• Munich Fabric Start: Major European textile trade fair held in Munich twice yearly, featuring fabrics, accessories, and trends. Direct competitor serving European fashion brands with a similar curated, trend-led positioning to TLTF.
• Milano Unica: Italy's premier textile trade fair held in Milan, focused on high-end fabrics and accessories. Direct peer to TLTF with overlapping exhibitor base (Italian mills) and similar buyer pool of European fashion brands and luxury houses.
• Première Vision: Globally leading fashion textile trade fair held in Paris (with editions in NY, Shenzhen). Direct competitor to TLTF in connecting international fabric mills with fashion buyers, with a similar biannual cadence and a larger international footprint.
• Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics: Asia's largest textile trade fair, held biannually in Shanghai. Comparable B2B exhibition format connecting fabric mills with global apparel buyers, with TLTF exhibitors from China/Taiwan/Korea participating.
• Pitti Filati: Florence-based yarn and knitwear textile fair held under the Pitti Immagine umbrella. Direct peer in the fashion textile trade fair category, serving overlapping European knitwear and yarn buyers.

Regional players

• Pure London: UK-based fashion trade show covering apparel, accessories, and footwear at the same Olympia venue ecosystem. Comparable UK trade-show operator targeting fashion buyers, though broader than textile sourcing.

Emerging players

• Fiber2Fashion: Global B2B textile marketplace and media platform serving 190+ countries. Adjacent digital peer offering year-round sourcing — both partner with TLTF for content, and represent the online model TLTF must defend against.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/thelondontextilefair
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/textile-events

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The London Textile Fair