Thomas Wolfe once said “You can’t go home again.” But for Jacket Required, a return to East London proved that while a homecoming brings a sense of nostalgia and familiarity, it also provides an opportunity to manifest just how far the show has evolved and developed. And so, for its sixth edition Jacket Required set new roots in East London at The Old Truman Brewery, a world-renowned epicentre of cultivation and style, to present autumn/winter 2014.

Timing is everything, and the decision to make the move to Shoreditch was welcomed across the industry. Bigger, better and busier were the words hot off the press, and for spring/summer 2015 this becomes the mantra for the team behind the show, as the curators-come-organisers plan its brand offering for the next edition.

For Jacket Required, change is not the only constant. An affirmation to showcase the very best in premium and directional menswear, footwear and accessories has since its inception been a covenant for the trade show. The promise to feature new and established labels from the UK and continue to bring international brands to London remains prevalent for the season ahead.

“For us, it’s important to not be resistant to change or indeed become complacent,” says Craig Ford, the show’s co-founder. “We now enter the seventh edition of Jacket Required with plans to present over 200 collections. Whether they offer streetwear, heritage-inspired workwear, sportswear, hi-tech outerwear, premium denim, vintage or suiting, buyers have come to trust our view that they are all relevant for the modern menswear market. For us, there’s menswear and there’s premium menswear, and that’s something that will never change.”

Jacket Required’s residency within a newly developed space in what was once London’s largest brewery, grade II listed The Old Truman Brewery, brings with it a revived gritty East End appeal to attract the industry’s most interesting and innovative brands and come 30 & 31 July, sought-after retailers and buyers to explore a carefully edited offering, amid two floors of white washed industrial tundra.

Jacket Required’s road to East London is a nod to its original creation, recognising and upholding everything that has made the premium menswear trade show a success since its first edition at Rochelle School in 2011. There was a feeling, that the launch of the show also brought the launch of a collective – with the support of like-minded individuals all at the heart of menswear, recognising the demand among international and domestic buyers for a dedicated under-one-roof destination during the London buying period. Now, there’s a new confidence and harbinger of possibilities with the trade show’s return to Shoreditch, with an increasing commitment to its original promise and to not just be around the culture and inspiration surrounding East London, but to again be a part of it.

“Vibrancy, diversity and creativity are the buzz words synonymous with East London. Shoreditch is forever evolving and growing as a hub for fashion, lifestyle, art and music; never stagnant,” says co-founder Mark Batista. “Both Craig and I have chosen East London to set up businesses in during our time in menswear, and this synergy of qualities rings true when you speak of Jacket Required and our family of brands and buyers. So, I don’t know about Thomas Wolfe but, for us, there really is no place like home.”