London based global fashion software company Unmade raises €5.3M, plans Europe and US expansion

London-based fashion software company Unmade today announced a new funding round of £4.75 million (€5.3 million approx). Octopus Ventures is the lead investor, with additional funds coming from MMC Ventures, Felix Capital and existing investors.

The financing will be used to fund Unmade’s continued global expansion and development of its technology, as well as improvements in serving existing customers. Unmade plans to grow its team both in Europe and the US.

Offer print customisation

Unmade has seen considerable growth this year with new customers and the expansion of its London based team. Since the last investment round, Unmade’s technology has developed to offer print customisation alongside its knitwear solution and its first team wear customer, Rapha Custom. The revolutionary team wear solution was launched in March 2019 with great success.

Founded by Hal Watts, Kirsty Emery-Laws and Ben Alun-Jones, Unmade was started with the mission to reimagine both the design and manufacturing processes within the fashion industry, so brands only make what is actually sold, in support of a sustainable, ethical economy. Unmade is driving innovation through an end-to-end digital solution for on-demand production at scale, delivering customisation, team-wear and micro-fulfilment.

New level of customer experience

Unmade is partnering with forward-thinking fashion, lifestyle and sportswear brands including Rapha Racing Ltd, and a number of iconic fashion houses, to foster a new level of customer experience through customisation and direct interaction with the product that is completely integrated to the existing ecosystems. Earlier partners of the company include Opening Ceremony, Farfetch, Christopher Raeburn and Selfridges.

To date, Unmade has raised £10M with earlier round investors including Connect Ventures and Felix Capital as well as leaders from the fashion and retail industries, such as Sian Westerman, President of Business and Investment Pillars of the British Fashion Council; José Neves, Founder and CEO of Farfetch; and Christopher Suarez, Co-founder and previous CEO of Nicholas Kirkwood amongst others.

Zoe Chambers, Future of Industry lead, Octopus Ventures, commented:

With fashion brands and consumers increasingly conscious of wastage and un-sold stock arising from mass production and mass consumption in the fashion industry,  Unmade is showing itself to be a pioneer, delivering much-needed disruption in the industry by using technology to offer demand-driven manufacturing. 

Unmade has already seen rapid growth this year, with its recent teamwear launch proving a resounding success, and we expect to see this continue as the company further develops its on-demand supply chain offering. We are delighted to be joining Unmade at such a crucial time in its journey and look forward to working with this fantastic team.

Hal Watts, CEO and Co-Founder, Unmade, commented: 

We have an ambitious roadmap for the future of Unmade and we’re delighted to have the support of the team at Octopus Ventures, who understand our vision for a more efficient and sustainable fashion industry.

Unmade now works with three of America’s top 10 fashion brands, and recently launched a groundbreaking teamwear offer with UK cycle brand Rapha. With the help of Octopus Ventures we will continue to lead the fashion and sportswear industries, delivering our innovative end to end digital solution to power fashion driven by demand.

For those who are not aware, Unmade is a global fashion software company driving innovation through an end-to-end digital solution for on-demand production at scale, delivering customisation, team-wear and micro-fulfilment. The UK company is working with some of the most innovative fashion, lifestyle and sportswear brands to foster a new level of customer experience through customisation and direct interaction with the product that is completely complementary to the existing production process.

The business, started by Hal Watts, Kirsty Emery and Ben Alun-Jones in 2014, was born out of a desire to reimagine both the design and manufacturing processes within the fashion industry, so brands only make what is actually sold, resulting in minimal waste. The company’s cutting edge patented software was nominated for the LVMH Innovation Award at VivaTech in Paris, and in 2017, it won the Best Use of Innovation at the Drapers Digital Awards in London.

Furthermore, Unmade was most recently named in Fast Company’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. Pieces from Unmade are now a part of the permanent collections at both The Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

— Press release

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