Redress announces 11 finalists for Design Award 2018

23 May '18

4 min read

Following a worldwide search for sustainable fashion design talent, environmental NGO Redress has announced 11 finalists for the Redress Design Award 2018. Representing 11 different regions including Hong Kong, India and the UK, the designers embody a growing movement to bring textile waste back into fashion and take the circular economy mainstream.

Organised by Redress, the Design Award is the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition and will see the finalists present their dynamic collections created entirely from waste textiles to an international audience this September in Hong Kong. The finalists are Christian Jay Martin (The Philippines), Ganit Goldstein (Israel), Hung Wei-Yu (Taiwan), Jesse Hin Fung Lee (Hong Kong), Lea Mose Svendsen (Denmark), Lucia Alcaina (Spain), Lynsey Gibson (UK), Melissa Villevieille (France), Sarah Jane Fergusson (Japan), Seerat Virdi (India) and Tess Whitfort (Australia).

Leveraging strong support from over 100 tertiary fashion education partners, the 2018 cycle of the competition was Redress’ first truly global search for talent. During the two-month open application phase, its online ‘Learn’ platform saw over 5,500 visitors exploring content on the numerous environmental issues in the fashion industry and the innovative design techniques that can be used to tackle waste, which resulted in a record number of applications from 56 regions around the world.

"For this Redress Design Award cycle, we scoured the world looking for the best emerging designers to tackle fashion’s underbelly - waste. With an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste generated annually - a truly staggering figure that is projected to increase to 148 million tons annually by 2030 – there is not a moment to lose as we passionately cultivate more fashion changemakers. Our search was rewarded; the designers are demonstrating the creative and commercial potential of the wide breadth of untapped textile waste streams from the fashion industry and beyond,” said Dr Christina Dean, Redress founder & board chair.

The finalists sourced inspiration from a range of complex and topical issues such as climate change, war, gender identity, over-consumption and how the internet has altered our relationships with one another. These 11 emerging designers represent a new generation of socially and environmentally conscious individuals who are determined to make a difference through their actions.

With the level of talent running at a record high, the competition’s expert panel of judges had a challenging task. As a result of neck-to-neck leaders, Redress opened a bonus place for an eleventh designer. All finalists will now create their five-piece collections from their homes in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Israel, Philippines, Japan, France, UK, Spain, Denmark and - a first for the competition - India and Australia. Their collections will soon be handed over to the competition’s logistics partner, UPS, who will expertly deliver them to Hong Kong in preparation for the Grand Final fashion show at HKTDC’s Centrestage fashion week on September 6, where the winners will be announced in front of a 1000-strong audience and via global live stream.

The competition boasts impressive prizes: as well as their all-expenses paid educational trip to Hong Kong, Asia’s sustainable fashion hub. The first prizewinner will join new up-cycled fashion brand, The R Collective, to design a collection for retail created using textile waste. The second prizewinner will receive a professional development mentorship with Orsola de Castro (fashion designer, co-founder of Estethica and co-founder of Fashion Revolution), to propel his or her career in sustainable fashion design. Throughout the visit, the finalists will be filmed by a TV crew, who will capture their battle for the third season of Frontline Fashion, the documentary co-produced by Redress and Mustard Creative.

“This is my second year judging the Redress Design Award and I’m pleased to see the growing number of creative talents from around the world who realise that they have the power to make a positive difference to the environment through their designs and through textile waste innovations. I am inspired to see more people along the fashion supply chain show an unwavering commitment and push for more sustainable practices,” said Roger Lee, Redress Design Award international judge and CEO of TAL Group. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India