Kévin Germanier, the Swiss rising star of sustainable fashion

Swiss designer and Central Saint Martin's student Kévin Germanier, who won the EcoChic Design Award 2014/15, is now working on a sustainable fashion collection for Shanghai Tang using upcycled materials.

"I got into fashion through the endless hours I spent playing with my sister and her dolls. I come from a tiny, conservative village in Switzerland where boys and girls stick to their gender-role expectations. But as a creative child I spent most of my time around girls who I used as my real-life dolls. Fashion is how I've chosen to express myself since childhood."

"It feels amazing to be able to create clothes and at the same time protect the planet. As a young and passionate designer, it is important for me to feel useful. Working in a sustainable way gives me limitations that keep me on my toes. The message I am trying to communicate through my work is that you can find beauty anywhere. I would like to open people's eyes."

"I was inspired by the past, present and future of Chinese culture, so I combined upcycling and reconstruction design techniques to create garments using surplus army textiles and industrial textile waste. The collection mixes traditional hand techniques [such as weaving, knitting, dying and embroidery] with a modern twist. I also researched the way different generations of Chinese women dress, so the collection offers clever, elegant and modern garments."

"That it is a trend. In my opinion, sustainability is forever linked to fashion. As designers, it is our responsibility to respect this relationship and work with both of them at the same time. A fashion designer is a person who creates clothes; a good fashion designer is a person who creates beautiful clothes that sell well and are made in a conscious way."

"I like to be positive towards the future of sustainability in the fashion industry. NGOs like Redress, competitions such as the EcoChic Design Award and media coverage all prove that the sustainable movement is becoming increasingly prevalent. Large fashion houses as well as smaller labels are starting to commercialise sustainable fashion. In general, I have noticed that people seem to increasingly care about where their clothes are made and by whom. I think sustainability in the fashion industry is slowly but surely on its way to becoming normal business and I hope this continues."