VF Corporation and Redress announced Jessica Chang as the winner of the 2021 Redress Design Award. A selection of Chang's winning designs were showcased during the competition. Photo: Redress
SUSTAINABLE FASHION
VF and Redress Announce 2021 Winner of Sustainable-Fashion Competition
VF Corporation, a leader in branded clothing, footwear and lifestyle accessories, in partnership with the environmental charity Redress announced the winner of the 2021 Redress Design Award, which reflects VF’s ongoing effort to innovate and drive the next generation of environmentally conscious designers. The winner of the award gets to design a sustainable capsule collection with Timberland, which will then be available for sale in 2023.
Ten finalists from the U.S., U.K., Germany, India and China participated in the virtual event. The 10-day competition featured educational challenges and classes to advance sustainability. Designers secured their places in the competition by showing various pieces focused on sustainability such as climate-positive clothing through zero-waste patterns, extended clothing life cycles, end-of-life disassembly, recycling and washing.
First-prize winner Jessica Chang impressed the judges with her collection, which incorporated waste materials into the designs. The winning design demonstrated creativity in sustainability as well as strong marketability. Chang will begin working with Timberland immediately along with VF’s Sustainability and Responsibility team to ensure the materials and design strategies maximize sustainability. The runner-up winner for this year’s award will receive a mentorship opportunity with sustainable fashion designer and competition judge Orsola de Castro.
“Winning this chance to work with Timberland is a life-changer for me,” Chang said. “Entering this complex industry as an emerging designer is daunting because, so often, everywhere we look we see bad news and complexity. We know we can bring change. Yet it is hard to magnify our big ideas as startup designers. The Redress Design Award has given me confidence—we are all in this together to make a positive change!”
Last year’s Redress Design Award winner’s collaboration with Timberland is expected to release in the spring. Vietnamese designer Le Ngoc Ha Thu spent nine months working with Timberland to design a Chinese New Year–themed capsule collection that puts nature and the consumer at the center of the conversation
