VF Corporation, Redress announce winner of Redress Design Award 2023

VF Corporation and Hong Kong-based environmental NGO Redress has named Nils Hauser from Germany as the winner of the Redress Design Award 2023.

The Redress Design Award, the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition, aims to provide a platform for emerging fashion designers to advance circular design in the fashion industry.

As the winner, Hauser will get the chance to work out of VF’s Tokyo Design Collective (TDC), a design hub located in the heart of Japan’s Harajuku district, where he can connect, network, and co-create with designers and artists from VF’s range of global brands. In particular, he will have the chance to collaborate with the Timberland design team on the brand’s spring 2025 apparel collection.

Hauser’s winning collection, named ‘Ex Voto’, showcases a range of multifunctional garments crafted from upcycled materials. In particular, the designer incorporated sofa upholstery fabric and nylon from an old family tent into his designs, as well as used water-based printing paint on his garments. 

“VF remains committed to fostering a lower carbon future through implementing sustainable design principles, such as circular design, that minimize the industry’s environmental impact,” said Jeannie Renne-Malone, VP of global sustainability at VF Corporation.

“Our collaboration with Redress gives us the unique opportunity to directly connect with emerging fashion designers who have a passion for sustainability, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed so they can be catalysts for change in the industry and usher in a new era of sustainability in fashion.”

The Redress Design Award 2023 featured nine emerging designers selected for the final stage following a rigorous selection process that involved reviewing hundreds of applications from around the world. 

Representing nine different regions, including Australia, Hong Kong, India, and Sri Lanka, these designers showcased their collections to a global audience at the Redress Design Award 2023 Grand Final Fashion Presentation earlier this month, where the winners were also revealed.

This marks the fifth consecutive year that VF has partnered with Redress. 

“The fashion industry needs to reinvent itself, from the drawing board to the board room. This transformation requires talent and strong leadership. Our collaboration with VF and Timberland, through providing circular-practicing designers, spotlights the role of the designer and collaboration to bring about change. Armed with circular design techniques, decisions at the design stage can change fashion – and the world,” said Dr Christina Dean, founder of Redress.