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Environmental NGO Redress concluded their week long programme of sustainable fashion activities in Hong Kong, the epicentre of Asia’s fashion industry, further cementing emerging designers’ power to drive positive change and pushing the global agenda to reduce waste in the fashion industry.
The week included a design challenge, two workshops and an industry seminar before culminating at the grand final fashion show of the world’s largest sustainable design competition for emerging designers, The EcoChic Design Award 2015/16.
Here ten finalists from Asia and Europe united to command Hong Kong Fashion Week’s runway, and the influential industry onlookers, with their textile-waste-reducing collections, having already out-designed an unprecedented level of competition entries from designers living in 40 countries across Asia and Europe. Two winners, from Poland and Spain, were crowned winners.
Christina Dean, Founder of Redress said, “We must face the pressing reality that the fashion and textile industry, as the world’s second biggest global polluter, can’t carry on as-is without crippling our planet. Change is not happening fast enough. In contrast to the majority of the industry, emerging fashion designers are demonstrating that they, as tomorrow’s leaders, are more in tune with solutions and they are creatively cashing in on the environmental and economic opportunities within reducing and re-using textile waste. These designers are cementing a positive future for fashion”.
Leading up to the grand final, the ten finalists collaborated with multi-stakeholders to the find collaborative solutions and to share their expertise in sustainable design techniques.
The Redress Forum: Ford Design Challenge saw them up-cycle Ford’s sustainable materials into statement pieces for the runway; the reconstruction workshop set their creativity free in a huge discarded clothing warehouse; and their zero-waste workshop saw them travel to China to rub shoulders and share ideas with one of the region’s pioneering apparel manufacturers.
Further influencing, Redress co-organised a widely-attended panel discussion on circular business models with HKTDC.
Mr Jerry Liu Wing-leung, Head of Create Hong Kong, the competition’s major sponsor, said, “Sustainability is a global issue, and with a global perspective sustainable fashion design can transcend technicalities and become a way to the future. The EcoChic Design Award makes a significant impact on the way people view fashion.”
Three panels of judges, including influential personalities Susie Lau, Orsola de Castro, Johanna Ho and Nadya Hutagalung, were tasked to shortlist and identify the competition’s fifth cycle winners, which had neck-to-neck scores, the closest in the competition’s history.
Patrycja Guzik won the 1st Prize: The EcoChic Design Award 2015/16 with Shanghai Tang and she will spend three months in Hong Kong designing an up-cycled collection for China’s leading luxury brand’s global retail using their surplus textiles. Her winning collection was created using the up-cycling and reconstruction design techniques and she made her fabrics by tufting damaged textiles and unraveled secondhand garments.
“As the curators of modern China chic, it says a lot to the rest of the industry and our consumers that Shanghai Tang is translating Redress’ international search for emerging sustainable design talent into an up-cycled collection for our global customers. Our experience working with the last cycle’s winner inspired us about how business can do the right thing”, said Raphael le Manse de Charmont, Executive Chairman, Shanghai Tang.
“This week has been life changing and a real eye-opener for me that us designers really can design the future we want! Winning amplifies everything I’ve dreamt of about using my passions to prove that a more sustainable fashion industry can be a reality,” said Patrycja.
Cora Maria Bellotto won 2nd Prize: The EcoChic Design Award 2015/16 with Orsola de Castro and she will receive a tailored mentorship to propel his/her career in sustainable fashion design forwards.
Judged solely by supermodel Janet Ma, Patrycja also won The EcoChic Design Award 2015/16 Special Prize and she will design a sustainable outfit for Janet to reveal at a high profile public event and in a fashion photoshoot to redress consumers’ attitudes towards sustainable fashion.
In addition, a ‘Hong Kong’s Best’ recognition was given to Esther Lui to commend her achievements for leading Hong Kong’s pool of creative emerging designers.
With five cycles already behind them, Redress now celebrates over 100 talented alumni, who are previous semi-finalists and finalists, who are increasingly forging sustainable fashion careers, with some expanding their sustainable brands’ retail footprint.
As part of the week’s activities, Redress exhibited five alumni’s sustainable brands in The EcoChic Design Award Alumni Booths at HKTDC Hong Kong Fashion Week, attracting some of the region’s top buyers and driving more orders and expansion of the alumni’s stockists.
The booths form part of Redress’ over-arching The EcoChic Design Award Alumni Network, a platform to support this growing collective of sustainable designers with industry collaborations so as to magnify the designers’ momentum way beyond the runway. An additional retail and business development prize was awarded to Wan and Wong Fashion and Clémentine Sandner by Hong Kong’s retail store, kapok.
