Redressing HK with eco-fashion

January 12, 2020

City muse:

Redress Design Award 2019 Hong Kong Best Prize winner Keith Chan’s collection is inspired by Hong Kong’s signature neon signs and made of fabric scraps and second-hand garments.

Sustainable fashion:

Upcycling and other eco-friendly design techniques including UV printing are incorporated into these outfits.

Future fashionista:

Redress Design Award participant Jasmine Leung says she gained a better understanding of eco-fashion through attending seminars and completing assignments for her collection.

Fashion game changers:

Redress Circular Fashion Programme Director Kay Liu says the competition highlights that Hong Kong is leading the way in sustainable fashion.

Front row:

Visitors can get a close-up look at all the winners’ creations at the Redress Design Award retrospective exhibition.

Download Video| Transcript

Voiceover:
These outfits look chic and fashionable, yet some of the materials used to make them come from a rather unusual source.

Fashion designer Keith Chan:
The blue part is from the (school) studio’s recycling bin. I’m just using the secondhand garment to remake it and combine together.

Voiceover:
Keith also had to use his imagination when he unexpectedly ran out of material.

Fashion designer Keith Chan:
The amount is not enough, but I think I just can change the idea like using the asymmetric design. For the right hand side can be longer than the left hand side to solve the problem.

Voiceover:
These garments formed Keith’s collection for the Redress Design Award - the largest sustainable fashion design competition in the world - and earned him the Hong Kong Best Prize for 2019. Inspired by Hong Kong’s signature neon signs, he showcased his ideas through upcycling and incorporating other sustainable design techniques.

Take this cloth covered with a neon sign design. It was dyed using soy-based ink which contains far fewer chemicals than traditional printing.

While this outfit showcases his use of ultraviolet or UV ink which was used to print the word in the centre ‘ya’. This method is not only faster, but quieter and easier to dry.

Keith believes the competition has helped him to pay more attention to the materials he uses, especially as an emerging designer.

Fashion designer Keith Chan:
For most of the people, especially for the students, they don’t consider sustainability. They just consider how to make the garment better. But sometimes they just buy a lot of materials and choose which one is suitable. This is not only for design, but you also need to consider about society, consider what materials you use and how to make your outfit better.

Voiceover:
Fashion design students like Jasmine were inspired to create sustainable clothing through joining the competition.

By attending seminars and completing various tasks for her collection, she gained a better understanding of eco-fashion.

Redress Design Award 2019 semi-finalist Jasmine Leung:
In my Redress Design Award collection, the major concept is to transform the wedding dress into casual wear. I have learnt about circular design strategy, like applying the concept of zero waste, recycling and upcycling. Also I will be more concerned about the selection of fabric, I will choose more of the natural fabrics like the cotton fabric. I really think that this (competition) will really help me in my career, because I really want to establish my own sustainable fashion brand in the future. 

Voiceover: 
Since its inauguration in 2011 in Hong Kong, the award has evolved from a local competition to a unique global platform for talented fashion game changers to transform the fashion industry worldwide.

Redress Circular Fashion Programme Director Kay Liu:
CreateHK has been our sponsor since day one, it’s really showing Hong Kong is leading the way in sustainable fashion, showing the long history of Hong Kong in the fashion supply chain and saying how many companies, how many corporates are actually still based in Hong Kong and operating, driving the fashion world as well as driving, piloting or leading the way in sustainability in the supply chain.

Voiceover:
To celebrate the launch of the award’s 10th cycle, a retrospective exhibition is being held at The Mills until January 19 where visitors can get a close-up look at all the winners’ creations.

A new addition to this year’s award is the Redress All-Star design competition where alumni can showcase their collections to mark this milestone birthday.

The modern day phenomenon of fast fashion has completely changed consumer and retailer behaviour.

The latest trends fresh off the catwalk are now available off the rack in record time and for a fraction of the price. But these garments are usually made of cheap, low quality materials that fall apart after a few wears and end up in the landfill.

Fast fashion’s impact on the environment is huge. This is where environmental non-governmental organisation Redress plays a role.

Drawing board

Launched in 2007, Redress works to reduce waste in the fashion industry. It promotes sustainability through organising fashion shows, seminars and exhibitions in Hong Kong and abroad.

In 2011, the EcoChic Design Award was born. Relaunched as the Redress Design Award in 2018, it is open to emerging fashion designers and design students all over the world. The award aims to inspire designers to create mainstream clothing with minimal textile waste.

Redress Circular Fashion Programme Director Kay Liu explained the motivation behind setting up the award came from discovering that 80% of a product’s environmental impact is determined during the design stage.

“That means designers have a lot of influence on how their product is going to impact the environment, so we really want to spread the message for fashion designers to understand the power they have and to positively impact the industry,” Ms Liu added.

The competition works to educate emerging fashion designers around the world about sustainable design theories and techniques to drive growth towards a circular fashion system.

In the space of a decade, the award has evolved from a local competition to the largest global platform for talented fashion game changers to transform the fashion industry worldwide.

Fashion muse

Keith Chan is one of those young design talents. His collection, inspired by Hong Kong’s signature neon signs, won him the Hong Kong Best Prize for 2019.

Mr Chan said his fellow competitors inspired him to try out different sustainable design techniques. A designer from Spain used natural plant dyes to colour her garments and changed his perspective on the industry’s dyeing methods.

“This is not only about design, you also need to consider our society, really think about the materials you use and how to make your outfit better,” Mr Chan noted.

Fashion design students like Jasmine Leung were also inspired through joining the competition.

Each competition cycle takes participants on an educational journey lasting several theory and design-packed months to educate designers about fashion’s negative environmental impacts.

By attending seminars and completing various tasks for her collection, Ms Leung gained a better understanding of eco-fashion.

“The award gave me an opportunity to acquire practical fashion knowledge beyond the classroom. I have learnt about circular design strategy, like applying the concept of zero waste, recycling and upcycling.”

Major milestone

The Redress Design Award marks its 10th cycle this year. Many of its alumni have gone on to establish more than 40 sustainable brands globally, with some already receiving international recognition.

A new addition to this year’s contest is the Redress All-Star design competition which is open to alumni from past cycles to mark the milestone birthday. Applications for the Redress Design Award 2020 officially opened on January 8.

To celebrate the 10th cycle, a retrospective exhibition is also being held at The Mills until January 19, where visitors can get a close-up look at all the winners’ creations.