Catch Her If You Can: Redress 2019 Winner Maddie Williams

Brit fashion designer Maddie Williams on September 5 took home the First Prize in the Redress Design Award 2019, presenting her sustainable “The Mourners” collection in collaboration with one of JNBY Group’s subsidy brands, REVERB. A modern look with an old-fashioned heart.

The Redress 2019 Winners. All rights reserved

For her Redress Design Award collection, “The Mourners,” Williams drew on the vast loss of biodiversity, planetary health, and our humanity. Applying up-cycling and reconstruction techniques to reclaimed textiles, yarns and secondhand clothing, the designer weaved them all into zero-waste pieces that she subsequently constructed into her garments.

Oh tempora, oh mores… Memento mori symbolism — the medieval Latin Christian theory and practice of reflection on mortality — is embedded within Williams’ textile and print designs to remind us that our time to take action is running out.

Take a Temper look at the top three Redress 2019 Victor, Victoriae.

The Sustainably Sourced Thread That Runs Through Redress 2019

The 10 Redress Design Award finalists were selected from hundreds of applicants by an international panel of judges, including Ruth Farrell, Gold Sponsor Eastman’s global marketing director of textiles. The designers represent eight different countries as well as Hong Kong. First prize winner, Maddie Williams will join JNBY Group to design a sustainable collection for retail. Runner-up Carina Roca Portella will mentor with Orsola de Castro, founder and creative director of Fashion Revolution.

Part of the international panel of judges was Ruth Farrell, Gold Sponsor Eastman's global marketing director of textiles. All rights reserved

Sustainably sourced Eastman Naia™ cellulosic yarn featured prominently in the Grand Final Fashion Show of the 2019 Redress Design Award in Hong Kong on Thursday. Naia™ from Eastman was showcased in 10 innovative collections of waste-reducing designs. The competition finalists were challenged to incorporate Naia™ fabric remnants into their collection pieces. The Grand Final Fashion Show reached a global audience of industry professionals, media and VIPs at CENTRESTAGE and was live-streamed internationally.

“By sponsoring the Redress Design Award, Eastman’s goal is to help educate the fashion and design community about the importance of sustainable yarns. We want to raise awareness of the Naia™ brand and support emerging designers on their journey toward building eco-friendly fashion brands of the future.” Ruth Farrell

Naia™ is made from fully traceable and sustainably sourced wood pulp in a safe, closed-loop process where solvents are recycled into the system for reuse. In addition, Naia™ has an optimized, low-impact manufacturing process with a low tree-to-yarn carbon and water footprint.

With a third-party reviewed life cycle assessment compliant with ISO14044, Naia™ is listed on the Higg Materials Sustainability Index. Eastman holds FSC® and PEFC™ Chain of Custody certifications. Naia™ is also certified as biodegradable in freshwater and soil environments and is compostable in industrial settings, having received the “OK biodegradable” and “OK compost” conformity marks from TÜV AUSTRIA.

Carina Roca Portella - Spain - Runner-up Redress Design Award 2019, all rights reserved

Carina Roca Portella - Spain - Redress Design Award Photoshoot 2019, all rights reserved

The Redressed Revolutionaries

Redress is a pioneering Hong Kong-based NGO working to reduce textile waste and promote environmental sustainability in the fashion industry. Through its dynamic programs, Redress works directly with designers, brands, manufacturers, industry professionals, educational organizations and consumers to promote innovative models and drive growth toward a new circular economy for fashion. For more information visit redress.com.hk.

Sustainability savvy in fashion must extend from fiber to fashionista,” said Christina Dean, Redress founder, and board chair. “There is an innovation race to find more environmentally sound materials for fashion.

The Redress Design Award 2019 Runner-up prize went to Carina Roca Portella. She will receive tailored mentorship with distinguished sustainable fashion designer and competition judge, Orsola de Castro. Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in sustainable fashion, Orsola has nurtured many of the pioneering names in sustainable fashion from their early designs through to their established brands.

This mentorship opportunity will give you expert and targeted support, which will be provided to you wherever you are in the world through video calls and by email over a six-month period. This will propel your career in sustainable fashion design forwards and prepare you, your visions and your collections for the competitive market of attracting fashion buyers and media – and ultimately securing success.

Keith Chan - Hong Kong Best Redress Design Award 2019, all rights reserved

Keith Chan was crowned the Redress Design Award 2019 Hong Kong Best. He, too, will receive a customized mentoring program from azalvo, a fashion and lifestyle incubation platform, and use of azalvo’s innovative co-creative working space and technical appliances to develop their collection. Chan will also receive a JUKI high-performance lockstitch sewing machine, 10 books from the Bloomsbury “Basics Fashion Design” series.

Reuse. Reimagine. Redress.

Venimus. Vidimus. Williams Vicit.

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Elsbeth van Paridon

China Fashion, Design and Urban Culture Groupie, Editor-in-Chief at The China Temper

Elsbeth van Paridon holds a degree in Sinology and additionally is just another run-of-the-mill fashion aficionada. After tackling Beijing for some six years and living in Hong Kong for a bit, van Paridon managed to claw her way through a Europe-based academic endeavor called Journalism in 2018 and as of 2020 once again finds herself pounding the pavements of China, from Shanghai to Da Jing.

Perpetually in pursuit of the greater good that is “China Fashion”, van Paridon set up The China Temper to help promote the dynamite dynamic fashion scene sprouting within Beijing, Shanghai, and China overall. Catering to anybody and everybody who reads English and/or Chinese, Temper covers all the basics and bases. From China's street style scenery to its budding photographers, internationally renowned designers, and underground quirks plus phenomena: We present one hot-hip-happening current collective weaving The New "Made in China" tag.

The term “Made in China” is undergoing the ultimate 21st Century makeover. Escorted by the increasingly strong influence of a new thinking among China’s younger generations, regarding individuality and the expression thereof, the fashion scene in the Middle Kingdom is exploding. And stretches far beyond what meets the eye. It’s appliqué, one might say.

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