REDRESS DESIGN AWARD 2023 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED, REVEALING HOW THE NEXT GEN OF DESIGNERS ARE TACKLING THE MOUNTING TEXTILE WASTE CRISIS

[10 May 2023, Hong Kong] The Redress Design Award 2023 announces its 10 Finalists today,

representing the top emerging sustainable fashion designers who have out-designed hundreds of

applicants around the globe to reach this point. These 10 talents will compete head to head, showcasing

their design-driven solutions to fashion’s waste problem, at the prestigious Grand Final Fashion Show in

Hong Kong in September.

The Redress Design Award is the world’s largest circular fashion design competition, organised by

Asia-focused and Hong Kong-based environmental NGO Redress and supported by Create Hong Kong

(CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as the Lead Sponsor. It is

unique in that it works to showcase, educate, and empower emerging designers who are committed to

transforming the future of fashion.

The educational component of the Redress Design Award is particularly relevant in the current fashion

landscape: the fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global water waste and 10% of greenhouse gas

emissions contributing to climate change (1), with around 90 million items of clothing sent to landfills (2).

Yet fashion designers hold significant power to improve these statistics, with around 80% of a product’s

environmental impact being locked in at the design stage (3).

Two Hong Kong Designers Make the Cut Hong Kong designers Jasmine Leung’s collection, ‘Over the Midnight of Doomsday Clock’, and Mandy Fong’s collection, 'Start From Zero', tackle various types of textile

waste including electronic waste, end-of-roll nylon, home textiles and cut-and-sew waste. The Redress Design Award invites the next generation of designers to use creativity, innovation, and circular design strategies to tackle the problem of fashion waste and prove that they are the ones to watch and support in building a better future for fashion.

Representing a total of nine different regions worldwide including Hong Kong, this year’s Finalists will join

an expenses-paid educational trip to Hong Kong in September. There, they will defend their collections in

front of an international panel of industry-leading judges before showcasing them to the world on the

runway of the Grand Final Fashion Show, where the winners will be announced. The Finalists will also

gain in-depth knowledge of sustainable industry practices from leading experts through masterclasses

and complete design challenges that reflect those facing the industry today.

The designers all have their eyes on the main prize: the chance to join global leading fashion brand

Timberland by VF Corporation for a unique and exclusive sustainable collaboration. “We believe fostering

talent and innovation is both good for business and a necessity for the future for our planet,” says Sean

Cady, VP Global Sustainability and Responsibility at VF Corporation. “Mentoring the next generation of

designers [through this competition] is incredibly rewarding.”

“Now more than ever, fashion brands are going to need designers who understand circularity and how the

whole supply chain fits together,” shares Christina Dean, Founder and Board Chair, Redress. According

to McKinsey & Co’s The State of Fashion 2021 report (1), while China has long been the world’s

dominant maker and still accounts for some 29% of apparel sold globally, production is shifting to

Southeast Asian countries due to their comparatively cheaper labour and overhead costs. “Redress’

headquarters being in Hong Kong, and the opportunities it offers to Redress Design Award Alumni in

reaching neighbouring Asian countries and regions, are critical advantages in our efforts to push the

needle toward a more circular fashion industry.”

Next up, the 10 Finalists will send their completed collections — including four physical looks and one

digital outfit — to Redress for a professional photoshoot with Vogue Hong Kong, with the garments to be

safely delivered via UPS’ carbon neutral shipping. During their career-changing trip to Hong Kong in

September, the Finalists will be staying at Nina Hotel Tsuen Wan West.

The People Have Spoken: Favourite Designer Fast-Tracked To The Finals

To highlight the importance of consumer participation in driving sustainability in fashion, last month

Redress invited the public to join the judging process by voting online for their favourite Semi-finalist. The

winner of the People's Choice Award 2023, Pavneet Kaur of India, with her collection titled ‘EUTOPIA’

made from discarded turbans and cut-and-sew waste, has automatically advanced to the final round of

the competition based on receiving the most votes. She also wins a JUKI professional overlock sewing

machine and digital book from Bloomsbury.

The Redress Design Award 2023 Finalists are:

● Aya Letzter, Israel

● Frances Brunner, USA

● Jasmine Leung, Hong Kong

● Mandy Fong Sze Man, Hong Kong

● Molly Ryan, Australia

● Nils Hauser, Germany

● Pavneet Kaur, India

● Ruwanthi Gajadeera, Sri Lanka

● Kim Yanghun, France

● Wen Hanzhang, Canada

More details of the Finalists are available on the Redress Design Award website here.

- ENDS -

High resolution images are available here and full media kit here for download.

Media Enquiries

Shirley A. Wong - Communications Manager

Email: shirleyaun@redress.com.hk

Tel: +852 9257 0778

Helaina Chow - PR and Digital Marketing Associate

Email: helaina@redress.com.hk

Tel +852 2861 0360

Editor’s Notes

● The Redress Design Award 2023 was open to applications from any fashion designer or student from around the globe with less than four years’ professional experience in fashion. See the schedule for the 2023 competition cycle here.

● Redress will welcome an international panel of industry-leading judges to the Grand Final in Hong Kong for this year’s competition: Mr. Simon Au, Managing Editor, Vogue and Vogue Man Hong Kong; Ms. Orsola de Castro, Author and Co-founder, Fashion Revolution; Ms. Krystyna Dzan, Senior Director, Product and Concept to Consumers, Timberland APAC; Mr. Kévin Germanier, Creative Director, GERMANIER and Alumnus, Redress Design Award; Mr. Rod Henderson, President, TAL Apparel Ltd; Mr. Dorian Ho, Creative Director and CEO, Doriano International Ltd; Mr. Peter Hui, Honorary Secretary, Sustainable Fashion Business Consortium; Ms. Jeannie Renné-Malone, Vice President, Global Sustainability, VF Corporation; and Mr. Angus Tsui, Creative Director, ANGUS TSUI and Alumnus, Redress Design Award. More details of the judges of the Redress Design Award 2023 can be found here.

● The Redress Design Award 2023 Finalists also join the Redress Design Award Alumni Network, which offers ongoing support to over 300 designers as they develop their careers in sustainable fashion. Among our partnerships this year, Mercedes will be supporting our Alumni activities for the 2023 competition cycle. Discover the 2023 Finalists here.

● The Rising Talents programme offers an exclusive sustainability enrichment experience to selected applicants who demonstrated exceptional potential for becoming sustainable designers. Discover Redress Design Award Alumni profiles here, including the Rising Talents, and find out more about the 2022 cohort here.

● The Redress Academy is a free multilingual online resource with in-depth content on circular fashion design topics, created for designers, educators, industry professionals and anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of responsible fashion design. Explore here.

● Source (1): Green Queen (2019) Asia’s Sustainable Fashion Industry On The Rise With New US$60 Million Supply Chain Fund. Available here.

● Source (2): Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide, Circular Textiles for a Sustainable Future, 2021, p. 19.

● Source (3): WRAP, Embedding environmental sustainability in product design. Available here.