Polish designer Patrycja Guzik has been named the winner of the 2015/2016
cycle of the annual EcoChic Design Award after the grand finale fashion
show, which took place on Wednesday night during Hong Kong Fashion Week.
The annual competition, developed and organized by NGO Redress, is the
world’s largest sustainable design competition for emerging students in
Europe and Asia. Guzik was selected as the first prize winner from a group
of ten finalists hailing from seven countries, including the UK, Poland and
China.
“This week has been life changing and a real eye-opener for me that us
designers can really design the future we want,” said Guzik on her
experience with EcoChic. “Winning amplifies everything I’ve dreamt of about
using my passions to prove that a more sustainable fashion industry can be
a reality.”
Her winning collection was inspired by the saying ‘Heaven as a place on
earth’ and consisted of two sustainable design techniques. She combined
up-cycling and reconstruction design techniques by hand-weaving damaged
textiles and unravelled second-hand garments, which she sourced from fabric
wholesalers and second hand stores in Krakow.
“To me sustainable fashion means living in balance,” said Guzik on her
collection. “We need to slow down consumption and stop creating new, new,
new. We need to change our thinking around clothes and more designers need
to show consumers that we are able to make beautiful clothes using old
clothes and damaged textiles.”
As the winner of the EcoChic 2015/2016 cycle Guzik will spend three months
in Hong Kong designing an up-cycle collection for Shanghai Tang, a luxury
retailer, using their surplus textiles as well as a year long subscription
to Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Second place went to Cora Maria Bellotto,
who will receive a tailored mentorship program to help propel her career
forward.
In addition to winning this year’s cycle, Guzik was also awarded the
Special Award, which will see the young designer create a sustainable
outfit for supermodel Janet Ma, which will be worn to a public event.