The Redress Design Award is coming to Africa for the first time in 2018. The competition, dedicated to sustainable fashion, is allowing applicants from the Africa region for the first time this year.
“2018 is the first truly global cycle of the competition and we’re excited to have already received our first ever entries from Africa– a continent that is bursting with creativity, colour and resourcefulness,” said Redress Executive Director, Anneleise Smillie.
The competition, formerly knows as the Eco Chic Award, has been around since 2011. The aim is to bring together like minds to find sustainable solutions to fashion production and to create excitement around this movement that is a must-do for the industry- which is one of the largest sources of depletion of environmental resources.
Smillie said “The environmental impact of the fashion industry is staggering and as one of the largest industrial polluters in the world it accounts for 10% of our global carbon emissions. Through the Redress Design Award we work to inspire the next generation of fashion designers, in order to reduce textile waste, minimise water and energy consumption and ultimately create a new circular economy for fashion.”
The competition asks applicant to submit designs made with 100% textile waste and that uses one of three sustainable design techniques- zero waste, up-cycling, and reconstruction.
For the first round, the application only requires that designers submit their ideas as sketches. Submissions are due by March 13th for this initial phase. From there, the field of applicants will be reduced to 30 semi-finalists and then 10 finalists. The 10 finalists will then be invited to create their designs and present them in Hong Kong in September. There, the winner of the award for 2018 will be announced.
To qualify, applicants must be 18 years or older and have less than 3 years of professional fashion design experience.
We spoke with an applicant from the award last year, Lina Mayorga, who finished as a top 10 finalist and had the opportunity to create her designs and present them in Hong Kong.
Speaking of her experience, she said “every challenge we were given taught me new things about sustainability. It made me want to explore more about new techniques to achieve zero-waste and how to utilize all the materials with an inventive approach. When I visited Hong Kong for the final and met people with similar mindset and work ethic, it drove me to keep working and fighting for a clean and transparent fashion industry and a healthier planet.”
IMO will be providing the opportunity for a number of brands to consult with us as they submit their applications for the Redress Design Award. If you are interested in receiving assistance as you put together your application, reach out to us here by February 28th.
Learn more about the award and how to apply for the 2018 cycle on the Redress Design Award site.
