The Redress Design Award 2023, the 13th cycle of the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition, kicked off with a VIP gathering of influential fashion leaders for an intimate dinner and discussion on 11 January.
The who's who of attendees from across various sectors included Mrs. Lowell Cho, Assistant Head, Create Hong Kong; Mr. Sunny Tan, Chairman, Hong Kong Productivity Council and Member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong SAR, PRC; Mr. Dorian Ho, CEO & Creative Director, Doriano International Ltd; Mr. Felix Chung, Chairman, Hong Kong Apparel Association; and Justine Lee, stylist, among others.
The event celebrated the competition's launch by gathering like-minded professionals — luminaries and thought leaders from across the fashion landscape — to discuss the potential for Hong Kong’s leadership in circular fashion, and to nurture the connections and conversations around a sustainable future for fashion. “Redress has a bold vision: to build a world in which fashion is circular,” shared Dr. Christina Dean, Founder of Redress. “To drive change, we must collaborate with the broader industry.”
The evening included a sharing activity that invited guests to ‘redress’ a mannequin with answers to the question, “How can Hong Kong and the region power up the global circular fashion industry?” Some of the most common themes raised were collaboration across sectors and borders; support for small and emerging companies/designers; and support for new innovations.
The exclusive event also served to mark Redress’s decade-long partnership with PizzaExpress, which has raised significant charitable funding and awareness for Redress and been a steadfast supporter to its work.
“We’ve backed Redress for 10 years to rally support and awareness for their work to educate designers and consumers,” said Mr. John Lui, International Brand and People Director (APAC) of PizzaExpress Hong Kong. “We recognise the sustainability parallels between food and fashion, from considerations for less waste, better packaging, product innovation and supply chain management. We are proud to be on this journey with Redress as we walk together to educate around responsible ‘style’, be that fashion or food!”
Applications for the Redress Design Award 2023 are open now until 16 March 2023 at 15:00 Hong Kong time (UTC+8), inviting emerging sustainable designers with less than four years of experience in the fashion industry to compete for exciting prizes, including a development funding pot of HK$80,000 (US$10,000) and a collaboration opportunity with global fashion company, VF Corporation.