The NGO Redress has announced the 30 semi-finalists of the Redress Design Awards, which annually honor the best talent in the field of sustainable design. With around 80 percent of a product’s environmental impact already being determined at the design stage, designers have a significant impact in driving the circular economy in the fashion industry.
As part of the competition, the up-and-coming designers will address the challenge of creating value from waste and shaping a more sustainable, circular future for the fashion industry.
This year’s semi-finalists dealt with special waste streams from electronic waste to sofa cushions and umbrellas.
The semi-finalists
Nils Hauser is the only German designer in the semifinals; the most represented country is India with the four designers: Aashita Jain, Apoorva Dudeja, Lenox Pinto and Pavneet Kaur.
Three designers each come from Hong Kong and Vietnam, namely Jasmine Leung, Mandy Fong Sze Man and Melody Zhang as well as Nguyen Thien Thao, Thach Tien and Pham Duy.
Frances Brunner and Scarlet Wang are from the USA, as are Jessica Horton and Rose Brown from the UK, Júlia Cots and Mariona Urgell Baiori from Spain, Giovanni Libero Zocchetta and Kim Yanghun from France, and Ruwanthi Gajadeera and Sandali Fernando from Sri Lanka.
Sole representatives from their countries are Aya latter from Israel, Wen Hanzhang from Canada, He Jingru from China, Miia Keskitalo from Finland, Molly Ryan from Australia, Ray Yang Chen Jui from Italy, Simona Kyosovska from Bulgaria, Stina Henriksson from Sweden and Yaroslava Kovalenko from Russia.
Redress is now inviting consumers to participate in the shortlist by voting on the Redress Design Awards website. “Consumers need to be part of this conversation. For too long, the production side of the fashion industry has worked alone. We’re seeing progress in the industry, but for sustainability to take off in fashion, consumers need to be passionate about it and participate. That’s why public voting is so important,” said Christina Dean, founder and CEO of Redress, in a press release.
The designer with the most votes will secure a place among the ten finalists and will be invited to Hong Kong in September to present his or her collection in person at the grand finale.
All finalists, to be announced in early May, will also receive a digital book on sustainable fashion from Bloomsbury Publishing and the winner will receive a Juki heavy-duty sewing machine. The grand prize is a design collaboration with Timberland and a $6,400 development fund.