Ten emerging designers from UK, Denmark, France and Sweden showcased an array of clothing made by using various auto parts including seat upholsteries at a design challenge held as part of the Fall/Winter edition of Hong Kong Fashion Week. To highlight sustainable design in fashion and automotive industries, the initiative was a collaborative effort of local environmental sustainability NGO Redress and American multinational automaker Ford. “Waste-to-landfill is a big issue our planet faces and we at Redress work to raise awareness about how we can reduce this. The Redress Forum: Ford Design Challenge was a great demonstration of how sustainable design thinking is as relevant for fashion as it is for the automotive industry,” said Christina Dean, Founder and CEO, Redress.
The challenge saw participants create dresses, jackets and skirts crafted from recycled sustainable materials used in new Ford cars and residual wastes gathered from vehicle production processes. “Designers have the power to affect environmental waste through their designs and the design process, and can minimize this total impact through the creative use of materials and other innovations. All the creations we have seen are innovative and thought-provoking, and we applaud each participant for rising to the challenge,” commented Emily Lai, Manager, Colour and Materials Design, Ford Asia Pacific, on the collection. The winner of the design competition Amandah Andersson used felt and cloth from Mondeo and Kuga seats to create her ensemble.
