World’s largest sustainable fashion design competition offers HK$80,000 (US$10,000) in funding as VF’s Timberland® unveils debut collection designed with Redress Design Award 2020 winner

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 5 January 2022 – It’s a banner month for leading Hong Kong-based environmental NGO Redress as it unveils plans for its Redress Design Award 2022, the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition, with Lead Sponsor Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. This is the 12th cycle of the Redress Design Award which invites aspiring designers globally to vie for HK$80,000 (US$10,000) in development funding and an exciting design collaboration with VF Corporation, a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories, and its Timberland^® brand. Simultaneously, Timberland^® is debuting the awaited sustainable Lunar New Year collection designed in collaboration with Vietnamese designer Le Ngoc Ha Thu who secured the opportunity as the winner of the Redress Design Award 2020 Menswear category.

 

The Redress Design Award 2022’s online applications will open on 6 January 2022 for designers across the globe, with the deadline on 16 March for submissions. This year’s winner will have the opportunity to team up with Timberland^®to be mentored and collaborate on a special design project. The winning designer will also receive HK$80,000 (US$10,000) as development fund and additional prizes. Runners-up will receive development funds and other prizes. “This is a standout opportunity for The Redress Design Award 2022 winning designer to collaborate with Timberland, one of the world’s industry leaders in sustainability, to make positive change,” says Redress Founder Christina Dean. “The fashion world is screaming out for innovation to help it transform from polluter to pioneer, and the next generation of designers can help to drive this.”

 

Speaking at the Media Launch of the Redress Design Award 2022 held on 5 January 2022, Jersey Yuen, Assistant Head of CreateHK, welcomed the return of the Redress Design Award and encouraged designers to join the competition.

 

A key component of this year’s Redress Design Award will be educating emerging designers about the concept of embedding circularity into fashion and design. According to an EU 2018 Science Hub Report, over 80 percent of a product’s environmental impact is locked in at the design stage. With that important figure in mind, this year’s judges will be looking for designs that can best showcase low-waste, low-impact materials and processes; longevity; and recyclability.

 

In order to further educate designers and potential Redress Design Award applicants alike on these key principles, Redress has refreshed and expanded its Redress Academy platform (previously called LEARN), to offer free in-depth resources for designers who seek to learn more about sustainable and circular fashion. The Redress Academy includes guides, videos and case studies on topics from sourcing to design, production and marketing, all with circularity at the forefront. A vital component is the Pathway Course, a free online programme rich in practical tips and featuring leading industry experts, with the opportunity for the participants to receive a certificate upon finishing the programme. Those who apply to take part in this year’s Redress Design Award will be entitled to participate in the course through 16 March 2022. “We designed this course with the understanding that fashion can be ever-changing, with sustainability at its core,” says Morgane Parizot, Redress Education Director. “Those who take the course will deepen their knowledge of circular fashion design strategies and techniques, giving them an edge on both the competition and the fast-changing fashion industry.”

 

Simultaneously this week, Timberland^® has released their Lunar New Year collection; a collaboration with Ngoc Ha Thu Le, the Redress Design Award 2020 Menswear winner. The collection will be available for sale in stores globally. “It’s exciting working with a design talent like Thu, whose approach to sustainability marries progressive design with innovative techniques,” says Marco Pavoncelli, Senior Director, Timberland^® APAC. “This is also a primary reason why we’re teaming up with Redress as Prize Partner of the Redress Design Award for a third consecutive year to attract top up-and-coming designers from all corners of the globe who are driving sustainability through circularity in fashion.”

 

Thu’s pinnacle piece is a 3-in-1 parka and accompanying backpack, which offers endless combinations for diverse activities and living conditions. “The insights and experience I gained from Timberland are invaluable and have given me a more realistic view of sustainability in the industry,” says Thu. With last year’s Redress Design Award attracting entries from a record 58 countries, Thu also hopes that her debut collection serves as inspiration to others. “The Redress Design Award journey has been deeply rewarding and invaluable in kickstarting my design career.”

 

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

 

Editor’s Notes

 

●      Emerging designers can apply to the Redress Design Award 2022 at: https://www.redressdesignaward.com/apply

●      The 2022 judging panel includes Orsola de Castro (Fashion Designer, Co-founder of Estethica & Co-founder of Fashion Revolution), Angus Tsui (​Creative Director, ANGUS TSUI and Alumnus, Redress Design Award​)​, and Edwin Keh (​Chief Executive Officer of The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA))

●      Registration for the Redress Design Award Pathway Course closes on 11 January 2022, with applicants to the competition gaining extended access until 16 March 2022 www.redressdesignaward.com/learn/pathway-course-2022.

●      Visit the Redress Academy at www.redressdesignaward.com/academy for resources on circular design strategies and how to source and market sustainable fashion. All content in English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, and selected materials also available in French and Russian.

●      Key Redress Design Award 2022 sponsors include: Create Hong Kong (Lead Sponsor), VF Corporation, Timberland, UPS, TAL Group, Lenzing, DAL Piper, ADM Capital Foundation, JUKI, Bloomsbury and Fairchild Books. Other partners: www.redressdesignaward.com/partners.

About Redress (www.redress.com.hk)

Redress is a pioneering environmental charity with a mission to educate and empower the fashion industry and consumers to reduce clothing’s negative environmental impact by shifting to circular solutions. Its dynamic programmes work to minimise the negative impacts of fashion, whilst promoting innovative new models and driving growth towards a more sustainable industry via the circular economy.

The Redress Design Award is the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition working to educate emerging fashion designers around the world about sustainable design theories and techniques in order to drive the shift towards a circular fashion system. By putting sustainable design talent in the global spotlight, the competition creates a unique platform for passionate and talented fashion game-changers to transform the global fashion industry and rewards the best with career-changing prizes to maximise long-term impact. Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the Lead Sponsor of the Redress Design Award. www.redressdesignaward.com

#Redress

About Create Hong Kong (www.createhk.gov.hk)

Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) is a dedicated agency set up by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in June 2009. It is under the Communications and Creative Industries Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and dedicated to spearheading the development of creative industries in Hong Kong. Its strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, and promoting Hong Kong as Asia’s creative capital and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community.

CreateHK has been sponsoring the Redress Design Award (formerly the EcoChic Design Award) since 2011 to promote Hong Kong’s fashion design.

About VF Corporation (www.vfcorp.com)

Founded in 1899, VF Corporation is one of the world’s largest apparel, footwear and accessories companies connecting people to the lifestyles, activities and experiences they cherish most through a family of iconic outdoor, active and workwear brands including Vans ® , The North Face ® , Timberland ® and Dickies ® . Our purpose is to power movements of sustainable and active lifestyles for the betterment of people and our planet. We connect this purpose with a relentless drive to succeed to create value for all stakeholders and use our company as a force for good. For more information, please visit vfc.com.

About Timberland (www.timberland.com)

Timberland is a global outdoor lifestyle brand based in Stratham, New Hampshire, with international headquarters in Stabio, Switzerland and Shanghai, China. Best known for its original yellow boot introduced in 1973 to take on the harsh elements of New England, Timberland today offers a full range of footwear, apparel and accessories for people who value purposeful style and share the brand’s passion for enjoying – and protecting – Nature. At the heart of the Timberland® brand is the core belief that a greener future is a better future. This comes to life through a decades-long commitment to make products responsibly, protect the outdoors, and strengthen communities around the world. The brand has committed to plant 50 million trees worldwide by 2025, and has a bold vision for its products to have a net positive impact on Nature by 2030, giving back more than they take. To share in Timberland’s mission to step outside, work together and make it better, visit a Timberland® store, timberland.com or follow @timberland. Timberland is a VF Corporation brand.

*Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organizers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Communication and Technology Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Create Hong Kong, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.