Manchester, a Northern powerhouse in itself, is on the brink of taking London’s crown for being the UK’s number one city for supreme youth culture. Manchester-based creatives are getting even more creative thanks to an increase in new businesses setting up shop there and agencies from the big smoke moving the 220 miles north to save. Save what? Money of course, but also their sanity as competition for innovation really has reached its peak in the capital.

Young Londoners are flocking there in their thousands (more than 68,000 people left London for Manchester between August 2013 and June 2014) due to highly unrealistic rents, huge travel costs and yes, that word again, gentrification. Now, Manchester’s youth scene is thriving, allowing room for young people to grow and innovate within their artistic field of choice. Here, we profile 5 young females making waves up North and proving that Manchester is a pivotal part of UK youth culture today, tomorrow and in the future.