Macclesfield industry grew from button making in the 1600’s to then supply the London fashion industry in the early Eighteenth Century, when Court dress demanded the highest quality materials and accessories. The links to High End Savile Row tailoring continues with woven ties and silk squares adding that flash of colour and individuality to the business suit.

In the Nineteenth Century the School of Art was founded in Macclesfield, providing training in textile design and manufacturing. Designers like William Morris were known to have attended specialist lectures. 

During World War Two local firms produced not only parachute silk but also printed maps on silk for the air crew to take with them. Macclesfield has its own very distinct textile story, about innovation and trade, which continues today. The Collection illustrates a range of design movements from the Arts and Crafts and Art Deco graphic repeats to vintage designs of the 1950s and 60s; all created in the local area of Macclesfield.