The EcoChic Design Award is the world's largest sustainable fashion design competition challenging emerging fashion designers to create mainstream clothing with minimal textile waste. The 2015/16 cycle celebrates the competition's fifth year anniversary.
The practical application varies among disciplines and there are various types of sustainable design. The EcoChic Design Award focuses on the following:
• Zero-waste: a design technique that eliminates textile waste at the design stage
• Up-cycling: the recycling of a material into a product of higher quality
• Reconstruction: the process of making new clothes from previously worn outfits or preformed products
Each competition cycle takes designers on an education and design journey lasting several theory and design-packed months. Firstly, designers are educated about the fashion industry's negative environmental impacts and the sustainable fashion design techniques, zero-waste, up-cycling and reconstruction that can combat this.
Secondly, designers are provided with the tools, via lectures, videos, articles and recommended links, in order to develop their understanding of sustainable fashion design. Designers are also challenged to source textile waste, in its many forms, to enable them to transition towards sustainable design and sourcing. Only then designers are put to the ultimate test – to cut waste out of fashion – in this standout sustainable design competition.
There is no entry fee.
Eligibility
Open to emerging fashion designers with less than three years' experience and fashion design students living in any country in Asia and Europe who are aged 18 or above.
Prize
The first prize winner will design a capsule collection using up-cycled textiles for Shanghai Tang, China’s leading luxury brand that prides itself as the curator of modern Chinese chic.
For the second prize, the winner will receive a six month tailored mentorship with distinguished sustainable fashion designer, Orsola de Castro.
The special prize winner might have the chance of creating a signature sustainable piece for a leading Asian female celebrity. Moreover, all finalists and all semi-finalilst will win educational and career-enhancing prizes.