Set up in a retail shop in The Mills, the G2G is a joint collaboration among Hkrita, the H&M Foundation and Novetex Textiles Limited with the support of The Mills. It is a place where visitors can appreciate the past, experience the future and learn something new.

The complete garment-to-garment process takes place in a standard 40-foot container. With its anti-vibration, noise and dust-controlled design, the production line minimises noise and disturbance to nearby businesses, and so can be operated within community spaces such as shopping malls. The container, which houses the whole production line, is made of glass. Visitors can look inside and view the components that run the system, turning old clothes into renewable clothes. They can even deepen their experience by recycling their own used clothes.

The interior design of the system strikes a balance between historical structure and modern architectural elements, making old structure part of the new design. In order to capture the essence of the old Mills in the new space, Hkrita sought support and advice from the Design Department of the Nan Fung Group during the setup stage.

“I would like to congratulate the laureates sincerely on their wonderful success. The fact that their products were able to satisfy the strict criteria of the jury bears testimony to their award-winning design quality. The laureates are thus setting key trends in the design industry and are showing where future directions may lead,” said Professor Dr. Peter Zec, founder and CEO of Red Dot, in reference to the winners.

“We want to demystify the whole recycling process. We want the public to understand the intrinsic value of the clothes that they have and how much more we can do with them,” said Edwin Keh, chief executive officer of Hkrita.

“We are very excited about the winning of this prestigious award with Hkrita, our close partner. The core value of re-invention shared by Hkrita and The Mills is vividly represented by the concept of upcycling and sustainability through this techstyle system. The G2G is housed in a 40-foot standard container, which was designed in collaboration with the Nan Fung design team so that it can be transported to other places around the world,” said Vanessa Cheung, founder of The Mills and managing director of Nan Fung Development Ltd.

The Red Dot Award: Product Design is one of the world’s largest design competitions. In 2019, designers and manufacturers from 55 countries entered more than 5,500 products in the competition. The international jury comprises experienced experts from different disciplines and has been convening for more than 60 years in order to select the year’s best designs. During an adjudication process that spans several days, they try out the products, discuss them and ultimately reach a well-founded decision regarding the design quality of the entries.

Established in 2006, Hkrita is funded by the Innovation and Technology Commission of the Hong Kong Government and hosted by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Hkrita engages in applied research to support the textile and apparel industry in order to boost its overall competitiveness, and to drive sustainable improvements and bring benefits to society. By providing one-stop services for applied research, technology transfer and commercialisation, Hkrita makes sustained efforts to promote successful projects for industry application. (PC)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India