Congratulations to Jon Liesenfeld from Germany for winning the Redress Design Award 2026, the world’s leading sustainable fashion design competition!
Following his runway victory at CENTRESTAGE, the designer wins a week-long trip to the UK to connect with leading voices in sustainable fashion through exclusive studio visits, industry introductions, and behind-the-scenes experiences, supported by the GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland Campaign.
“My generation of designers won’t be judged just on aesthetics. We must understand circularity — durability, repairability and recyclability — from the drawing board to fill the racks with what more consumers hope to buy. Coming into this wasteful fashion industry is intimidating, and we must respond with courage,” said Jon, whose collection fuses flawed leather with deadstock jerseys.
To win the competition, eight Finalists outshined hundreds of emerging designers applying from around the world. Following that, their collections were judged, with a gruelling in-person session at Soho House Hong Kong, by a panel representing top-notch sustainable industry expertise. This year’s judges were Orsola de Castro, Author and Fashion Activist; Rachel Franklin, Director of ESG, Simple Approach; Cherry Mui, Editorial Director, Vogue Hong Kong; Rod Henderson, President, TAL Apparel; Angus Tsui, Creative Director, ANGUS TSUI and Alumnus, Redress Design Award; and Dr. Christina Dean, Founder and Board Chair, Redress.
As part of the competition’s Grand Final Week educational bootcamp, our Finalists took on a ‘Remake to Retail’ challenge where they remade discarded, unwearable post-consumer clothing waste into retail-ready collections for multi-brand fashion retailer, D-mop, in collaboration with TAL Apparel, leading global garment manufacturer. The resulting collection is scheduled to launch with D-mop later this year.
The Redress Design Award 2026 winners also include Jasmine Cheuk, who won both runner-up and Hong Kong Best, and Tal Zohar from Israel, who won the People’s Choice.
Relive the excitement of the Grand Final Fashion Show with the livestream recording to discover the Finalists’ competition looks plus a showcase of Alumni brands!