The 19th edition of the HKTDC Hong Kong Fashion Week for Spring/Summer is putting a spotlight on eco-fashion, a growing trend to use environmentally friendly fabrics and sustainable production techniques in the design and manufacture of fashion items.
The trade fair will feature the grand final runway of EcoChic Design Award Hong Kong on Thursday, during which the six finalists will showcase their sustainable designs.
Initiated last year by Redress, a Hong Kong-based non-profit group that advocates environmental sustainability in Asia's fashion industry, the competition challenges local designers to create mainstream fashion with minimal waste.
'Everyone is a fashion consumer, yet few people consider the underlying environmental impact embedded into our clothing, including textile waste, water pollution, chemical and energy use. The competition allows us to engage, educate and enable fashion designers about sustainable design issues over a period of time so that, ultimately, our work has more impact on protecting the environment,' says Christina Dean, founder and CEO of Redress.
The award provides budding designers with sustainable design tools to take them through five months of design and theory that culminates in the grand final runway. The winners will design a collection for Esprit using recycled textiles and go on an educational fashion tour of London in partnership with the British Council. The competition is open to students and designers with up to five years' experience, living in Hong Kong.
Dean says one of the benefits of collaborating with the trade show is the opportunity to integrate with the mainstream fashion industry. She believes that sustainability needs to be at the core of the industry and for all the players involved.