Northern Enterprise Awards 2020

4 | Northern Enterprise Awards 2020 Dec21271 Best UK Covid-19 Face Coverings Manufacturer Based in Cheshire, the ELLE brand went from almost a century of producing luxury hosiery to producing milk fibre medical grade compression socks, and then to producing Covid-killing face masks, and now to anti-viral linens and soft furnishings. ELLE is a recognized household hosiery brand, synonymous with luxury, quality & design. What is interesting is the innovation the company is becoming recognized for also, with the design ELLE’s technology and innovation, with a strong focus on eco, environmentally friendly & sustainable manufacture, has been at the cutting edge of smart textiles for many years with products in a range of brands including ELLE, Atom Compression Wear, Ms Shape and the 2P1E anti-viral brand. Products across the brands include medical grade hosiery, performance compression, PPE, linens, and soft furnishings, as well as the core offering of high-end luxury tights, leggings, and stockings. and manufacture of smart textile products which look good, and do good. In 1845 ELLE’s founder William Wileman’s grandfather Richard, claimed to be ‘the oldest hosiery manufacturer in the kingdom’ and that tradition of being the first has been carried strongly by those who have overseen the brand over the last 100 years, and current CEO Anja Kahn has added science and technology to the brand’s vision. Anja is globally recognized in the industry for innovation with fibres, specialist knitting techniques and the treatment of articles with a concoction of organic solutions to realize products which have benefits for the wearer beyond the esthetics, and her ‘firsts’ are quite impressive too. She was the first to bring to the market a revolution in graduated compression socks, at medical grade levels and made from milk, resulting in a patent pending 22mm Hg