From wrecked cars to catwalk: the fashion hothouse born in a row of lock-ups

It’s had Huguenot weavers, Jewish traders and Bangladeshi tailors. But east London is not the clothing powerhouse it was. Could a £6m startup built from garages in Poplar see it sashaying back? A clothing rail full of crisp new garments sits where a heap of old tyres and a mouldy old mattress once lay. All it needs is the models and the photoshoot can begin. Nearby, where a rusting car used to languish, rolls of fabric and patterns are laid out on a table ready to be cut, sewn and fi