HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – September 8, 2023 – Redress, the Hong Kong-based, Asia-focused environmental NGO accelerating the transition to a circular fashion industry, has announced the winners of the 2023 Redress Design Award. With the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) as title sponsor, the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition concluded its 13th cycle at Hong Kong’s flagship fashion event Kong, CENTRESTAGE*, September 7.
First prize winner, German Nils Hauser gets the chance to change careers and work on a sustainable design collaboration between VF Corporation’s Tokyo Design Collective and the Timberland® design team for the Spring 2025 clothing collection of the brand. The winner beat out eight other finalists from emerging designers from Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka and the United States, following a grueling nine-month educational competition which attracted applications from 46 countries and regions.
“Collaborating with a world-leading brand like Timberland® and bringing my sustainable fashion ideas to the mainstream and large-scale fashion market while working with the expert team at Timberland® is every designer’s dream,” said Nils Hauser. “Designers have solutions and we know that by working together we can make change,” he said.
A change is essential. Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Around 100 billion items of clothing are sold each year, representing a 50% increase since 2006, with the majority of clothing going to landfill or burned within a year of production.[1] Every second, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of textiles is dumped or burned.[2]
At the same time, 80% of a product’s environmental impact is determined during the design phase.[3]
“Design decisions made right from the drawing board can change the world,” said Redress founder Dr. Christina Dean. “Fashion needs to reinvent itself to become more circular. The floods and fires continue. Our Redress Design Award finalists are the firefighters of fashion. Making sustainability and circularity an industry standard seems like a dream far away, but it’s worth fighting for if we want to reduce the negative environmental impacts of fashion.
Congratulating the success of another round of the Redress Design Award, Mr. Victor Tsang, Director of CreateHK, remarked that “The 14th National Five-Year Plan has clearly expressed its support for Hong Kong’s development as a meeting point between the East and the West. international cultural exchange. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is pleased to support the Redress Design Award, which plays a central role in bringing together sustainable design elites from around the world and providing a unique platform that serves to train fashion designers. talented. to transform the global fashion industry.
The finalists represent a new generation of fashion designers who are diverting waste from fashion through the circular design techniques of zero waste, upcycling and reconstruction. They do this by exploring their local textile waste streams for their design materials, from manufacturing waste and consumer scrap to the more imaginative reuse of turbans, tents and sheets. Their bold designs and sourcing methods represent creative and innovative solutions to increase current achievements in circularity, which currently see less than one percent of clothing being recycled into clothing.[4]
“Our collaboration with Redress gives us the unique opportunity to directly connect with emerging fashion designers who are passionate about sustainability, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to usher in a new era of sustainability in fashion,” said said Jeannie Renne-Malone, Vice President of Global Sustainability at VF Corporation. “VF remains committed to driving a low-carbon future by implementing sustainable design principles, such as circular design, that minimize the industry’s environmental impact. »
Nils Hauser now takes over from previous winners of the 2022 Redress Design Award winner Federico Badini Confalonieri from Italy, 2021 winner Jessica Chang from Taiwan and 2020 menswear winner Lê Ngọc Hà Thu from Vietnam, who each contributed to sustainable capsules in collaboration with Timberland. ®.
EXPERT JUDGES AT THE FOREFRONT
Nine expert judges examined this complex judging process based on criteria ranging from circularity to commerciality, including Mr. Kévin Germanier, Creative Director of GERMANIER and alumnus, Mr. Rod Henderson, Chairman of TAL Apparel Ltd; Mr. Peter Hui, Honorary Secretary, Sustainable Fashion Business Consortium.
Judge Orsola de Castro, author and co-founder of Fashion Revolution, said: “I have judged the Redress Design Award for 13 cycles and mentored as many winners. I’ve seen the transformation Redress is bringing to the fashion industry in Asia, and the ripple effects globally. It’s a remarkable impact and Hong Kong deserves credit for it.”
REDRESS ALUMNI FUEL GLOBAL FASHION SUSTAINABILITY
The nine 2023 finalists now join the Redress Design Award alumni network, which includes more than 300 past finalists and semi-finalists from more than 40 countries and regions to benefit from Redress’s continued support. Using a variety of circular design talents and solutions, these influential fashion changers continue to catalyze greater change in the industry, whether it’s creating their own sustainable brands, training other designers, or working for small and large fashion brands and manufacturers.
Over the past four years, Redress alumni have worked with American Eagle Outfitters, Harvey Nichols Hong Kong, Kipling and Timberland®; paraded during fashion weeks in Paris, Milan, Shanghai and Shenzhen; and dressed world celebrities including Lady Gaga, Heidi Klum, Taylor Swift and Sunmi. Through The R Collective, the social impact company inspired by Redress, alumni have also collaborated with Lane Crawford, Net-a-Porter, kapok, Haustage, UBS and Value Retail.
To celebrate the continued achievements of Alumni and with the support of Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong, eight Redress Alumni brands were showcased at the Grand Final Fashion Show on September 7 and at CENTRESTAGE until September 9, 2023.
EDUCATION AT THE HEART
Education plays a vital role in driving a circular fashion system. As such, the Redress Design Award works with 150 partner fashion universities to reach thousands of fashion students around the world and provides free circular fashion resources and educational materials through the Redress Academy. This year’s selected finalists also participated in a week-long educational camp comprised of masterclasses and circular design challenges, from collaborating with manufacturers and packaging solution providers to revitalizing put-together consumer apparel. discarded.
Editor’s notes
About the Redress Design Award 2023 competition: www.redressdesignaward.com
-
The competitors : The Redress Design Award 2023 was open to applications from emerging designers and students with less than four years of professional experience worldwide. Finalists
here. -
The winners:
-
First prize winner: Nils Hauser, Germany
-
Second winner: Ruwanthi Gajadeera, Sri Lanka
-
Best Hong Kong Award Winner: Mandy Fong, Hong Kong
-
People’s Choice Winner: Pavneet Kaur, India
-
-
The price the details are
here. -
The complete panel of internationals
judges East
here. - The Redress Design Award 2023 partners and sponsors include Create Hong Kong of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government as the main sponsor; VF Corporation, TAL Apparel, Delta Global and UPS.
-
*CENTRESTAGE is sponsored by Create Hong Kong of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.
About Redress Alumni
-
All former students in repair may be seen
here. - The repair design price Alumni showcase: Redress presents a showcase of six Alumni brands at CENTRESTAGE Stand 3D-B06 in Hong Kong from September 6 to 9, 2023.
- Winner of the 2023 Alumni Prize: Eric Wong wins the opportunity to create a recycled centerpiece from used airbag fabric waste from Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong, which will be exhibited as part of the brand’s BAM festival in Hong Kong in October 2023.
About Redress Academy and Education
-
The online and open access platform of the Redress Academy is here.
-
The Redress Pathway to Circularity online courses are
here. -
Other supporting statistics are
here. -
The 2023 finalists participated in educational activities including: a factory tour, masterclasses and group challenges at a TAL Apparel factory in Vietnam; a packaging solutions workshop with Delta Global; and a post-consumer textile waste design challenge.
Hashtag: #RedressDesignAward
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
