Parsons and Yoox team up to promote sustainable fashion

New York’s Parsons School of Design is partnering with Yoox on its socially and environmentally responsible destination Yooxygen to promote sustainable fashion practices through education and collaborations.

The collaboration will see the introduction of the Yooxygen Award, which will be awarded to a graduating BFA Fashion Design student of Parsons at the colleges annual benefit in May.

The winner of the inaugural Yooxygen Award will be awarded a six-month internship at Yoox's headquarters in Milan. The internship will start in July and will see the award winner creating a sustainable women’s collection to be sold exclusively on Yoox in January 2018.

An additional six-month internship will be awarded to a second student who will work at Yoox's headquarters in New York City, beginning in September.

The aim of the honour is to encourage Parsons BFA Fashion Design students to consider fashion design as a vehicle to address urgent and current societal problems, which include climate change and sustainability.

“In 2009, when Yooxygen debuted online, we were amongst the first to acknowledge the importance of responsible choices in fashion,” said Federico Marchetti, founder of Yoox and chief executive of Yoox Net-A-Porter Group. “Our partnership with Parsons combines our commitment towards education and our desire to encourage sustainable fashion choices. We are convinced that the next generations of talents will drive a more sustainable fashion agenda and we feel it is our responsibility to empower them.”

Burak Cakmak, Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design, added: “We are excited to collaborate with Yoox on this important partnership for our students. Sustainability education is vital for our students, and Parsons is committed to training designers who are prepared to address urgent issues in the fashion industry.”

The Parsons’ 69th Annual Benefit will take place on May 22, 2017, at Chelsea Piers in New York.