The Sustasia Trend Prize, a contest spearheaded by Shaway Yeh’s sustainability company Yehyehyeh and the Shanghai Trend Designers Affiliation, awarded its inaugural money prize to Chinese language designer Ruohan Nie on Friday.
A jury composed of executives from the likes of LVMH and the Earthshot Prize selected Nie, a Tianjin-born graduate of New York’s Parsons College of Design who exhibits her namesake model Ruohan at Paris Trend Week, because the winner of the 100,000-yuan ($14,000) prize. Eight finalists competed by exhibiting outfits comprised of next-gen supplies provided by corporations providing low-impact supplies or plant-based leather-based and fur options equivalent to biotech corporations Trendy Meadow and Spiber, bio-waste recycler Oleatex and BioFluff.
“This prize not solely gives a complete overview of the variety inside modern Asian style but additionally goals to construct a bridge between designers and materials innovators,” mentioned prize founder Shaway Yeh who presided over the jury with Lv Xiaolei (aka ‘Madame Lu’), secretary common of Shanghai Trend Week Organizing Committee and govt vice chairman of the Shanghai Trend Designers Affiliation.
“It’s about offering designers at a formative stage of their careers with the instruments and networks they should pursue sustainable sourcing options,” Yeh added. “However the impression of the prize doesn’t finish there as a result of the pairings additionally introduce younger creatives to maverick corporations that want outsiders to assist them breathe life into their supplies or to enhance the product-market match. Longer-term, the prize ought to encourage and generate accountable enterprise alternatives.”
Nie beat seven different younger designers from throughout Asia at a glitzy occasion throughout Shanghai Trend Week, together with Tetsuya Doi (Requal) from Japan, Jaggy Glarino (Jaggy) from the Philippines, Kha Ngo (Khaar) from Vietnam, Pratyush Kumar (Pieux) from India, Tommy Ambiyo Tedji (Byo) from Indonesia and two eponymous designers from China: Karmuel Younger and Angel Chen.
“Regardless of dealing with environmental challenges, Asia controls essential international provide chains and pure sources, making it a significant pressure in driving sustainable improvement,” mentioned Sarah Cragg, head of Asia at The Earthshot Prize, who sat on the Sustasia Trend Prize jury alongside LVMH Larger China president Andrew Wu and executives from Chinese language social commerce big Xiaohongshu, Japanese style PR agency Seiya Nakamura 2.24, and Chinese language model JNBY amongst others.
“For sustainable style to actually combine into the industrial panorama, it have to be scalable. Collaboration throughout your complete provide chain—from innovators to producers to retailers—is crucial to reaching this,” Cragg added.
Shortly after conceiving the Sustasia Trend Prize final 12 months, Yeh fashioned an advisory committee of trade leaders from throughout Asia to make sure the suitable scope, expertise and dedication stage of designer entries.
The committee included Trend for Good innovation director Priyanka Khanna, Vogue Thailand editor-in-chief Kullawit Laosuksri, Jakarta Trend Week chairman Svida Alisjahbana, Japan Trend Week director Kaoru Imajo, Labelhood founder Tasha Liu, The Mills Fabrica common supervisor Cintia Nunes, India’s Lakmé Trend Week head of sustainability Darshana Gajare, and Esquel managing director Dee Poon.
“It was clear to everybody that there was worth in rewarding excellence and serving as a matchmaker between designers and materials scientists. However what we additionally united round was the pressing want for this prize to bear tangible fruit — which means constructive ESG outcomes within the type of imaginative designs that real-world style shoppers wish to spend money on.”
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