Redress Design Award 2019 finalists revealed

10 extraordinary emerging designers showcase how creativity can reduce fashion’s waste

15 May 2019 - Redress announces the Redress Design Award 2019 Finalists - 10 emerging design talents shortlisted from hundreds of applicants from across the globe who are ready to transform fashion’s waste into want. Representing the cutting-edge of fashion creativity, the finalists, (who include menswear designers for the first time in the competition’s history), now have just 11 weeks to bring their concepts to life before presenting their collections in Hong Kong later this year at the live Grand Final where the winners will be announced.

Using circular design strategies, these designers will showcase solutions for the abundance of textile waste created by the fashion industry on a daily basis – an estimated 92 million tons a year¹. “Despite an increase in awareness and some action across the industry, the catastrophic levels of waste are not diminishing fast enough. However, we are incredibly excited about the energy this next generation of Redress Design Award Finalists are charged with and their potential to drive a positive shift from linear to circular models of production. Each year the applicants’ creativity and thirst for knowledge increases, demonstrating higher levels of transformative thinking which is essential to solve this challenge” shared Christina Dean, Founder and Board Chair of Redress.

Design approaches are diverse among the 2019 finalists who are utilizing a variety of textile waste types, including damaged camping equipment, wedding dresses, uniform waste and restaurant table linens. Each finalist showcases the power of designers to transform waste in their own unique style.

"It’s been incredibly inspiring to return as a judge for the Redress Design Award this year,” said Clare Press, Vogue Australia’s Sustainability Editor. “The depth of thought and breadth of creativity, applied by these talented young designers to dreaming up circular fashion design solutions has really impressed me. I can’t wait to see the collections up close when the 10 finalists present in Hong Kong. I'm sure we will discover more than one future fashion star.”

Now in its ninth cycle, the Redress Design Award 2019 receives major sponsorship from Create Hong Kong and Eastman NaiaTM and partners with over 130 educational institutes across the world. The competition spotlights the boundless creativity of emerging sustainable designers with a particular focus on the low waste design techniques of zero-waste, up cycling and reconstruction, while providing critical knowledge and skills to a wide range of emerging fashion professionals through a range of educational activities and resources.

“Another year, another group of hopeful finalists join the Redress Design Award, my absolutely favourite competition in the world. We need them more and more, their design opinions steeped in today’s problems with creativity as their solution. These emerging designers are offering us their views on the world we are leaving them, dictated by need and imagination instead of greed and exploitation, and in return ask us to support them in cleaning up our mess,” shared Orsola de Castro, Fashion Designer and Co-founder of Fashion Revolution.

After handing over their five-piece collections to Logistics Sponsor UPS who will ensure their safe passage to Hong Kong, the finalists, will themselves travel to the city in late August to take part in the Grand Final at HKTDC’s CENTRESTAGE on 5 September, live streamed to the world. While in Hong Kong hosted by sponsor Kerry Hotel, a luxury urban lifestyle resort, they will take part in an intense week of activities and challenges to further test their creativity and sustainable design thinking. Their journeys will also be captured for the fourth season of Frontline Fashion, the award-winning documentary series co-produced by Redress and Mustard Creative.

The ten finalists, selected by the International panel of judges made up of fashion’s finest sustainability experts, are competing for the first prize - to join leading fashion house JNBY Group to design a sustainable collection for retail. The runner-up winner will receive a professional development mentorship from Orsola de Castro, with multiple other prizes up for grabs.

The Redress Design Award 2019 Finalists are:

• Moriah Ardila, Israel, Unisex
• Julia English, Australia, Unisex
• Abby Gaskin, Canada, Womenswear
• Chan Jianfeng, Hong Kong, Womenswear
• Chan Meiyan, Hong Kong, Womenswear
• Damini Mittai, India, Womenswear
• Carina Roca Portella, Spain, Womenswear
• Anna Schuster, Germany, Menswear
• Natalie Tzur, Israel, Menswear
• Maddie Williams, UK, Womenswear

The People’s Choice

After a four week open call receiving thousands of votes from the public, the Redress Design Award 2019 People’s Choice was awarded to Israel designer, Moriah Ardila whose collection is inspired by outdoor living in non-urbanised areas of the world where people are more attuned to nature and its connection to us. Moriah’s use of damaged camping equipment, such as sleeping bags and tents, form the materials of her designs that wowed the public. Tapping into this unique waste source - a first for the competition - Moriah up-cycles materials into modern clothing items that retain parts of their original functionality. She believes sustainability can be fashionable and wearable at the same time.

Read more about Redress here.