Vegan knitwear that’s cruelty-free the next line from hobby knitter turned winner of EcoChic Design Award in Hong Kong

How has winning the EcoChic Design Award in Hong Kong affected your work? “This competition has been the biggest adventure I have ever been on. Creating my collection has transformed my view of what upcycling can achieve.

“The week of the grand finals hugely broadened my mindset and horizons. I learned a lot about the impact of customer care and waste management on a large scale through various design challenges. Winning first prize has bought me the opportunity to work with sustainable brand BYT and my collection is now on display as part of an installation in Lane Crawford.”

How did you become interested in sustainable fashion? “The world simply does not have enough resources to carry on producing clothing through the current systems. I originally trained as a fine artist and did knitting as a hobby. My creative drive shifted into wanting to create func­tional items of beauty, so I decided to turn my hobby into a career.

Fashion is the second most polluting industry. How do you envisage change? “I predict that sustainable fashion design will become the normal practice and any brand not following this will not last long. Consumers will keep demanding to know more about their clothing and tight­er regulations will be put in place for more ethical manu­facturing.”