The sustainable fashion company Hessnatur has announced the winners of the AMD Academy Mode & Design: Maren Rudd from the Berlin location, Yue Xiang from the Düsseldorf location and Gülsah Özdemir from the Wiesbaden location.
As part of a project cooperation with AMD, the design department of Hochschule Fresenius, the fair fashion provider invited more than 50 second-semester students at the Berlin, Düsseldorf and Wiesbaden locations to design a dress.
Under the title “For more tomorrow by Hessnatur”, the budding designers included sustainable aspects of products and clothing in their development processes and, with the help of the given inspirational theme “Comfortable versus uncomfortable”, they conceived, drafted and realized individual clothing silhouettes.
The material chosen was of particular importance because it has far-reaching effects on the entire value chain and thus on the environment. The topics of upcycling and redesign could be included in the sustainable creative process.
“All three winners have implemented the theme very individually and we are really enthusiastic about the creative dress designs. At Hessnatur, we live sustainability holistically and we would like to convey our attitude to promising young design talents and incorporate this important topic into the creative development process of a piece of clothing,” commented Patrick Götz, Chief Product Officer at Hessnatur, in a press release.
“Our students should learn to understand the processes of sustainability right from the start and include them in their creative process,” explained university lecturer Claus Bortas, explaining sustainability as an important part of training in the creative industry.
“The sensible use of materials is already addressed during the course as a framework for sustainable and innovative design. The aim is for the conscious use of material to become an integral part of the design process for the designers of the future,” added Ilona Kötter, Dean of Studies for Fashion Design.
The winners
With her design “Breaking Bubbles”, Maren Rudd dealt with the change that comes with leaving the parental home and growing up, as well as with the responsibility that one now bears for oneself. She was inspired by the mini silhouette of stars like Twiggy from the ’60s. The dress she designed is made of organic denim and the embroidery is made of organic cotton.
Yue Xiang was inspired by the diverse colors and shapes of nature for her sustainable dress and implements sustainability with the maxim “buy less, but fairly, better and more beautiful”. Her creation “Freedom” refers to the fact that a better future begins with ourselves and that we are free to choose our clothes. “Fashion is a phenomenon that fascinates. It shapes our daily appearance and is an expression of our values. We have the freedom to choose, feel and think who we want to be,” Xiang said.
Gülsah Özdemir dedicated her concept to the traditional kimono in order to bridge the gap between antiquity and modernity. She wanted to create a piece of clothing “that reflects the individuality of the past, today and the future”. Her design ”The 4 senses of clothing” consists of four rectangles that represent sustainability, minimalism, awareness and well-being and thus symbolize the most essential thing that a human being needs.
The clothes will soon be on display in an exhibition at the Hessnatur stores in Frankfurt, Butzbach, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Munich.