Esprit announces finalists of Ecochic Design Award

With previous emphasis on Asia, the talent fostering program  now spans across Europe this year for the first time. The first prize winner will design a recycled textile collection for Esprit, further demonstrating the competition’s substantial influence on the fashion industry and retail sector.

The EcoChic Design Award 2013 Finalists:

These finalists, who are all young designers or students with less than three years’ industry experience, impressed the judges with their creative application of the sustainable design techniques zero-waste, up-cycling and reconstruction.

“The EcoChic Design Award is now in its fourth cycle and, as a judge for every cycle, I am delighted to witness first-hand the increase in knowledge of sustainable design and the high level of originality and skill from all the semi-finalists this year. Their innovation is quite an inspiration for the development of sustainable fashion in the global mainstream fashion market,” said Margaret Kutt, Project Manager Sustainability of Esprit and judge.

Supported by the government agency Create Hong Kong, the EcoChic Design Award 2013 educates and enables emerging fashion designers to create mainstream clothing with minimal textile waste. The competition grand final will take place on the runway at HKTDC Hong Kong Fashion Week 2014 which is a significant mark to raise awareness around sustainability in this market.

Over the next two and a half months, all finalists are required to put their sustainable design concepts into reality, each making a six-piece collection to present at HKTDC Hong Kong Fashion Week in January 2014, where the winners will be announced. All finalists will come to Hong Kong and show their collection on the runway, battling it out for career changing prizes; and participating in sustainable fashion workshops at The Redress Forum.

Esprit