Juliana Garcia Bello from Argentina has been awarded the prize for womenswear at the Redress Design Award 2020, the world’s largest sustainable fashion design contest that celebrates its 10th birthday this year, beating out hundreds of other designers from 48 countries around the world. Although the Redress Design Award was held virtually this year due to restrictions caused by the pandemic, the top 10 finalists were put through demanding design and business challenges in the weeks leading up to the Grand Final, taking the form of virtual tasks that drew upon real life sustainability cases with a focus on waste generated as a byproduct of COVID-19.
Womenswear prize winner Juliana Garcia Bello's collection
The pandemic has upended life as we know it, and with nationwide lockdowns, transportation delays and shipping cancellations, the fashion industry and retail climate have been left to stagnate with stranded materials left in warehouses, factories and stores across the globe. The 2020 Redress Design Award sought to catalyse the circular economy at such a crucial point in time, with the finalists’ collections demonstrating the various solutions to reduce waste throughout the entire fashion supply chain and also across industries.
And this was evident in womenswear winner Juliana Garcia Bello’s creations. Coined HERENCIA, Juliana’s Redress Design Award collection perfectly encapsulates both the upcycling mantra and environmentally conscious values that the award embodies. Juliana used garments donated by neighbours, friends and family to create effortless pieces that are timeless and wearable but with chic and innovative twists. The designer was inspired by concepts of heritage, being and existence, and believes that every object makes a story possible.
Other winners included Ruth Weerasinghe for the womenswear runner-up prize, Grace Lant for the best prize winner award and Ngoc Ha Thu Le for the menswear prize.
Editor
Carina FischerCredit
Lead Image: Photography by Karl Lam
