by Rachael Oku

Fashioning the Future Awards

Last Thursday SIX Magazine were invited to the annual Fashioning the Future Awards pioneered by London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion. Held in the heart of the financial district in Canary Wharf’s domed East Wintergarden, aspiring designers and S&E fashion experts gathered to find out which graduates were to be crowned cream of the crop for 2011.

Founded just three years ago, the awards have gone from strength to strength encouraging a new generation of fashion innovators to pursue design-led solutions and sustainable practice in business. In a short space of time, the Fashioning the Future Awards has become the leading international student competition for design and innovation in sustainable fashion, attracting thousands of entries from around the world.

Inspired by the launch of the United Nation’s International Decade on Biodiversity , winners were judged in five categories: Unique Design, Unique Enterprise, Unique Communication, Unique Balance, Unique Materials and Processes, with one additional award going to The Body Shop “One to Watch”.

Before the awards got under way there was opportune time for guests to get a closer look at the shortlisted garments as models were dotted around the seating area – which was comprised of lightweight wooden stools, deftly made to resemble cotton reels.

The evening was a multi-sensory experience featuring interactive zoetropes and sound pods especially designed for the event by Kin Design, which hung from the domed ceiling, adding a unique and fun element to the proceedings.

Hosted by judge and ambassador for the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, Caryn Franklin did an amazing job holding court, especially when two of the presenters, Jo Wood and Harold Tillman were delayed.

With each of the six winners receiving a cash prize of £1,000 as well as the recognition for innovation in sustainability from the fashion industry, the mood was tense with nominees not knowing the outcome until their names were announced.

Up first was the award for Unique Balance which went to the deserving Sara Emilie Terp Hansen from Denmark. Using cork, a material usually associated with the wine industry, and giving it a new lease of life with a fashion forward application, Hansen was a clear winner highlighting the neglect of a valuable natural resource. The cork industry is currently threatened by the growth in plastic alternatives to classic bottle stoppers. This threatens the continued existence of cork forests worldwide; an important natural habitat and source of livelihood for many communities.

The second award for Unique Materials and Processes went to Evelyn Lebis from Sweden who explored the role of technology in our clothing. Approaching the category from an innovative angle, Lebis worked with engineers to develop e-textile technology which responds to the wearer’s movements, designing costumes for dancers that demonstrate the potential in this technology, with embellishments that light up as the performers move.

The third prize this time for Unique Enterprise was awarded to Alice Payne from Australia who believes there is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating a sustainable fashion system. Creating a unique content management system called The Think Lifecycle, Payne aims to build a bridge between existing industry practices and new, redirected practice in which sustainability is at the forefront of commercial thinking with a chief aim to embed lifecycle thinking within a company at a daily, operational level.

The fourth award, for Unique Communication was collected by Frank Muller from Germany who won for his innovative hybrid repair and customisation model +ADD and +REPAIR. Perhaps the most inspired concept of the evening, +REPAIR is a service that repairs damaged clothing. Each garment, whether an expensive luxury item, or simply a “basic“, lives with its owner through the ups and downs of life. In an unconventional manner +REPAIR individually mends and returns the bespoke garment to its owner and their history, providing the customer with not only a repair, but a new eco-friendly second life!

The fifth category Unique Design was presented by Head of London College of Fashion Professor Frances Corner OBE and collected by London College of Fashion MA Fashion Artefact graduate Lara Torres. The winning submission in this category “An impossible wardrobe for the invisible” is a project that examines the modern fashion designer’s task and opens a discussion on the current state of fashion.

The final award of the night was The Body Shop “One to Watch” Recognition Award, presented by Ann Massal, International Brand Director for The Body Shop, which went to American Ashley Brock. Choosing to (re)work with garments that are plentiful in thrift stores, Ashley’s ambition is to reduce the unnecessary pressure on natural resources.

Talking about her work Ashley said: “Natural resources are declining and allocation of these limited resources inevitably provoke questions surrounding ethical and environmental issues - should they go towards making more consumer products, meeting the basic needs of all people or to conservation efforts? We’re practically buried in existing products people just don’t want anymore. My concept uses resources already available in existing products, and does so in a fresh, unique and appealing way.”

Images courtesy of Alex Maguire