Q&A Kate Morris, winner of the EcoChic Design Award 2017

London - Kate Morris, a graduate of Nottingham Trent University, was the last UK contestant to make it to the final round of the annual sustainable design competition, the EcoChic Design Award, but she managed to win over the international jury panel with her vibrant collection to win first place. After being named the winner of the EcoChic Design Award 2017 cycle during a catwalk show held during Hong Kong Fashion Week, the knitwear specialist is set to join the team at BYT, a new luxury brand founded by Redress founder Christina Dean, and create a capsule collection for the brand. FashionUnited spoke with the emerging designer to learn more about the inspiration behind her winning collection, her thoughts on sustainable fashion and her experience at the EcoChic Design Award.

Where did your interest in sustainable fashion first come from?

“I did a degree in fine arts, but I always was a fan of knitting - it was my hobby. The thing I love about knitwear is that you can control the surface, the weight, and the shape of a garment as you are making it. I love that it does not involve any cutting, you can shape the panels as you knit, so in a way it’s a zero-waste technique. But as my interest grew and I wanted to turn my hobby into a career, it coincidence with the Rana Plaza disaster. The tragedy really opened my eyes to the extent of the problems within the fashion industry and motivated me to want to be part of the change. Sustainable design has always been at the heart of my practice, I find it so rewarding. I can’t imagine designing any other way.”

When did you first hear about the EcoChic Design Award? And why did you apply?

“I heard about the design award at my university when I was doing my masters in fashion knitwear design. There was a day of workshops run by Redress on upcycling design techniques which gave me a view of what it was, as before it wasn’t necessarily something I was interested in. I was blown away by the broad spectrum of using waste and heard all about the competition. It inspired me and was something that I really wanted to challenge myself to do. I never designed a collection starting with waste as my start point.”

What was it like being a finalist in the competition?

“It was amazing, it felt like one of the biggest adventures that I had ever been on. I’ve never been to Asia and I felt incredibly lucky to be selected. While we were in Hong Kong we did a lot of activities - three design challenges - so it was also very educational for me. It was incredible meeting all the other finalists, it was great meeting a group of like-minded people and I made worldwide friends for life. It’s been a quite surreal experience. I never thought I’d get this far, as I focus on knitwear and have a different approach to design - I don’t have a traditional pattern cutting background. I wasn’t even sure I would have enough time getting my submission for competition in as it clashed with a deadline for my masters, so I am very glad I did make it and send it through!”

Can you tell us a bit more about your collection?

“My collection started with the materials that were available to me. I received a donation of slightly imperfect corns of yarn from Italian spinners, slightly imperfect dye lots, and a donation of jersey t-shirts from the UK charity Trade, who have clothing banks in the UK. I was really surprised at how easily I got such luxury materials, within a week I had it all. I’ve never made a collection which has been so low cost.”

“Half of the collection is made with fine gauge, using digital knit machinery, the other is handcrafted. It is quite a diverse collection, but I put handicraft elements back into the digitally produced knitwear. The silhouettes were determined by the zero-waste production techniques, all the pieces were made in one. The jumper, for example, has two seams and is made in one panel instead of the usual four or five for efficient and is joined from sleeve to sleeve. A lot of it is seamless, made from tubes of knitting to ensure no waste. The patterns were inspired by my fine art background. I looked at pop-art, David Hockney, as well as food, retro 70s recipes, and visuals and I painted patterns that went into the knitted jacquards.”

What was the most challenging moment of the competition for you?

“The timeframe. We only had six weeks from when heard we were going to be a finalist to finishing the collection. That coincidence with my masters hand-in as well, but my university was really supportive and I somehow got it done. But I think it is good to work on a tight deadline like that, as it can really push ideas forward, which is good practice for when you work in the industry.”

How did you feel when they called out your name as the winner?

“I was in such a shock. I couldn't believe it. It felt amazing, I didn’t realize I was capable of achieving first place. We were in private room in the back while the models were getting dressed in the winning collection. We had to listen to Christina, who was speaking on stage, real-time and then I heard my name and had to run out front. It was really exciting.”

How do you foresee your future collaborative collection with BYT?

“It’s going be a knitwear collection, I already started brainstorming with Michelle (head of design). There are going to be elements of my EcoChic collection combined with BYT aesthetic. It’s all going to be made from upcycled yarns from very luxury brands, so that’s really exciting, I am going to be working with some amazing materials. The competition taught me that is really easy to get a hold of waste, as many companies are eager to get involved and it’s a low-cost way of creating a collection.”

What is your main piece of advice for other students participating in the Eco Chic Design Award?

“Don’t be afraid of the limitations - work with them. Use the waste as a starting point. Generally, if anyone is trying to design sustainably it can be quite overwhelming as there are so many issues, so start by picking 3 or 4 that are important to you and build on that.”

Photos: Courtesy of EcoChic Design Award