Hong Kong — February 6, 2012 — Redress is launching their EcoChic Design Award Hong Kong
sustainable fashion design competition that challenges emerging Hong Kong fashion designers to
create mainstream fashion with minimal waste. The competition provides designers with sustainable
design tools to take them through five months of design and theory that culminates at a grand final
runway at Hong Kong Fashion Week in July 2012. The winners will design a sustainable collection for
Esprit made using recycled textiles and go on an educational fashion tour of London in partnership
with the British Council.
“Everyone is a fashion consumer yet few people consider the underlying environmental impacts
embedded into our clothing, including textile waste, water pollution, chemical and energy use.
Through The EcoChic Design Award, we are ultimately addressing these negative environmental
outcomes by going to the source of the industry to educate emerging designers,” said Christina
Dean, founder of Redress.
“I think most of us don’t realize that designers influence an estimated 80 percent of the
environmental impact of a garment. With our current environmental crisis, it’s crucial to encourage
and educate emerging fashion designers about their important role in making the fashion industry
more sustainable. The EcoChic Design Award creates a platform for emerging designers to break the
boundaries of conventional fashion and I’m excited to see how this will translate into more
sustainable wardrobes in Asia,” said Sandy Lam.
More broadly, the competition raises awareness about Hong Kong’s high textile waste rates.
Daily in 2010, an average of 234 tonnes of textiles were discarded by industry and the public into
Hong Kong landfills, according to Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department.
Calling local designers to break the boundaries of conventional fashion
The EcoChic Design Award puts the spotlight onto Hong Kong’s emerging sustainable fashion
design talent, creating a platform to expand Asia’s sustainable fashion landscape. The competition
is open to fashion design students and designers with up to five years industry experience residing
in Hong Kong.
“I’m excited to be an EcoChic Design Award Hong Kong judge and to encourage local fashion
designers to creatively incorporate the waste reducing design principles, zero-waste, up-cycling
and reconstruction, into their designs. I’m pleased to support emerging sustainable fashion design
talent so that in tomorrow’s fashion industry, sustainability becomes the norm, not a niche. This
competition creates a competitive catalyst to achieve this and I can’t wait to judge the grand
finalists’ looks on the runway,” said fashion designer Barney Cheng.
The EcoChic Design Award Hong Kong 2012 expert panel of judges (in alphabetical
order)
Anderson Lee (Executive Director, Sustainable Fashion Business Consortium), Barney Cheng
(Fashion Designer), Do Do Yeung (Publisher of ELLE Hong Kong), Margaret Kutt (Manager for
Sustainable Projects, Esprit) and Orsola de Castro (Co-founder of ‘From Somewhere’ and
‘Estethica’).
Winning prizes to foster sustainable fashion design
The six grand finalists will showcase their minimal waste designs to a highly
acclaimed fashion industry audience at HKTDC Hong Kong Fashion Week in July 2012. Most notably, the
grand final winner will design a sustainable collection for Esprit made using recycled textiles,
which further demonstrates the competition’s substantial influence on Asia’s fashion industry and
retail sector.
“Esprit is proud to partner with Redress for the second time on The EcoChic Design Award.
We’re committed to sustainability and this partnership allows us to develop our own sustainability
agenda whilst also nurturing the next generation of Asia’s sustainable fashion designers. We look
forward to welcoming this year’s EcoChic Design Award Hong Kong 2012 Winner into our design team to
create one of Esprit’s future sustainable fashion collections for retail,” said Margaret Kutt,
Manager for Sustainable Projects, Esprit.
The awards are
1. “The EcoChic Design Award in partnership with Esprit and the British Council”
To design a sustainable collection for Esprit made using recycled textiles and an educational
fashion tour of London.
2. “The EcoChic People’s Award in partnership with the British Council”
This winner is voted online by the public and the winner will go on an educational fashion
tour of London.
3. “The EcoChic Most Promising Student Award”
A visit to Shanghai Fashion Week.
As well as this, all six grand finalists will have their sustainable design careers enhanced
by receiving a one-year premium membership with online sustainable sourcing site
www.source4style.com and have the opportunity to retail their own sustainable fashion collection
online at www.shopdescreateurs.com.
Posted on March 20, 2012
Source: Redress