Priya Ahluwalia wins H&M Design Award for sustainability

The H&M Design Award 2019 was open to both BA and MA graduates from 42 selected design schools in 17 countries. For H&M, it’s about shining a global spotlight on new talent, both rewarding this year’s best graduates, and encouraging young people around the world to choose fashion as their future path.

"I feel absolutely ecstatic. I never dreamed this could happen. Winning the H&M Design Award will let me develop this idea into a business that has sustainability truly at its heart," said Ahluwalia, a graduate from the MA course of the University of Westminster, London.

Ahluwalia has won a prize total of €50,000 for her collection combined both recycled materials with new sustainable fabrics, showing the possibilities for the future of environmentally responsible fashion. The London-born designer looked to her Nigerian and Indian heritage to bring stories of the garment waste industry to light, and to show how second-hand clothing can be used in a meaningful way. Her menswear is sporty, playful and serious in its message, H&M said in a press release.

Other finalists were Bo Xu – London College of Fashion; Bohyun Park – SADI, South Korea; Erica Bergamaschi – Polimoda, Italy; Ervin Latimer – Aalto, Finland; Guusje de Bruin – Artez, Netherlands; Hannah Vanspauwen – KASK, Belgium; Paolina Russo – Central Saint Martins, UK; Rebecca Szmidt – La Cambre, Belgium and Regina Weber – Weissensee, Germany. Each of the finalists won €5000, in recognition of their work.

Ahluwalia has been chosen as the winner by an international jury that included Christiane Arp, editor-in-chief of German Vogue; last year’s H&M Design Award winner Stefan Cooke; broadcaster and consultant Camille Charrière; Highsnobiety style director Jan-Michael Quammie; writer Charlie Porter; H&M’s creative advisors Ann-Sofie Johansson and Margareta van den Bosch.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India