The EcoChic Design Award 2014 winners revealed at Hong Kong Fashion Week
updated the 7 October 2015 à 00:04
In its fourth year running, the competition uncovers immense talent as it reveals this year’s winners.
The fashion industry has ballooned in size with more and more fashion design graduates joining the pool every year. With more designers comes more collections and that could only lead to more of the world’s resources being used up.
To combat these growing environmental issues, The EcoChic Design Award challenges emerging designers to create commercially appealing clothing with the least amount of textile waste. In its fourth year running, 8 finalists from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, UK, France and Germany presented their sustainable collections at Hong Kong Fashion Week World Boutique on 15 January 2014.
The lineup of notable judges included Orsola de Castro, Co-founder of From Somewhere and Co-founder and Curator of Estethica, Johanna Ho, Fashion Designer, Margaret Kutt, Division Manager Woman Collection & Trend, Gloria Lam, Editor-in-Chief of ELLE Hong Kong and Anderson Lee, Vice Chairman of the Sustainable Fashion Business Consortium.
Impressed by her innovative reconstruction design technique, Karen Jassen from Germany clinched the first prize, which gives her the opportunity to design the 2014 ‘Recycled Collection by Esprit’ for Esprit’s global retail in mid 2014. In addition, Karen Jassen was the Special Prize Winner as selected by renowned artist, Sandy Lam.
In second place was Louise de Testa from France and she will go on an educational trip to the sustainable jewellery brand, John Hardy’s design and production facilities in Bali to experience their design, production and business philosophies.
The EcoChic Design Award has become an important platform to voice growing concerns over the fashion industry’s negative impacts on the environment. As the competition increases in prominence, the hope for a sustainable future appears truly promising. For anyone interested to give themselves a challenge to create sustainable fashion, the fifth cycle will begin in April/ May 2014.
For more information about the EcoChic Design Award, visit their website here.
Tarandip Kaur
