From textile waste to runway: Redress Design Award 2026 opens public vote for the next generation of sustainable fashion designers

The Finalists’ collections showcase innovative approaches to tackling textile waste, transforming discarded leather offcuts, secondhand hardware and industrial waste through reconstruction and upcycling techniques, while exploring next-generation materials such as biodegradable fruit leather and ethical non-livestock wool to reimagine raw materials for circular fashion.

Organised by Redress and supported by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as Lead Sponsor, the Redress Design Award invites the public to discover the tactile beauty of circular fashion through its latest photoshoot and cast their votes to champion sustainable fashion while empowering the next generation of circular design talents.

The photoshoot: sensory storytelling

Photographed by acclaimed Hong Kong creative Paul Sunga with hair by Davines and makeup by MakeupBees, the photoshoot celebrates the creative decisions behind each Finalist’s collection, highlighting the unique textures, craftsmanship and natural imperfections of their materials while underscoring why design matters: 80% of a garment’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage^[1].

“The Finalists of the Redress Design Award are proving that thoughtful design can transform textile waste into something beautiful. Getting up close to these garments, you see how every material choice, texture and technique tells a story, reminding us that the biggest opportunity to reduce fashion’s environmental impact begins at the design stage. I can’t wait for people to discover these collections through the photoshoot and vote for their favourite,” says photoshoot photographer Paul Sunga.

The Finalists’ collections are transported from overseas to Hong Kong for the photoshoot and upcoming Grand Final using DHL Express’ GoGreen Plus service. This service helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a Book & Claim mechanism, where the environmental attributes of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) are allocated to participating shipments. Made from alternative raw materials with a lower-emission energy profile, such as used cooking oil, waste and hydrogen, SAF can reduce the air transport shipments’ lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by around 80 percent compared with conventional jet fuel.

Find out who wins at the grand final show

The People’s Choice Award winner will be announced at the Redress Design Award 2026 Grand Final Fashion Show, along with the coveted first prize including a week-long trip to the UK to connect with leading voices in sustainable fashion through a visit to Simple Approach’s Manchester operations to gain insight into responsible fashion design, development, and manufacturing, and an intensive experience with the team at luxury womenswear brand Roksanda to work on an upcycling design project.

The Redress Design Award 2026 Grand Final Fashion Show is open to an exclusive in-person audience and will be livestreamed globally on 2 September 2026 (Wednesday), at 5pm HKT / 11am CET via Facebook and WeChat. Save the date here.

Alumni showcase at centrestage open to public

Redress will also present a total of six Redress Alumni brands as part of both the Grand Final Fashion Show, and at a showcase of Alumni brands at CENTRESTAGE in Hong Kong from 2–5 September 2026 (Wednesday–Saturday, 11am–7pm) supported by DHL. Industry professionals and the public alike are all welcome to come, meet designers, and see up close their sustainable, waste-reducing collections.

The Redress Design Award 2026 Photoshoot Credits

• Photographer: Paul Sunga
• Models: Pak Yan Wong (Self Management Hong Kong), Max Holmström (Primo Management Ltd)
• Creative Stylist: Matthieu Amelin
• Hair: Henry Tse for Davines
• Make-up: Cindy Lai for MakeupBees
• Production: Katt Bidegain, Charly Cheung, Nancy Liu
• Studio: Soho House Hong Kong
• Lighting: Ming Suet
• BTS videographer: Jimmy Yu
• BTS photographer: Nicky Chan

Hashtag: #Redress

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Redress

Redress (www.redress.com.hk) is a Hong Kong-based, Asia-focused environmental NGO with a mission to accelerate the change to a circular fashion industry by educating and empowering designers and consumers so as to reduce clothing’s negative environmental impacts.

The Redress Design Award

The Redress Design Award (www.redressdesignaward.com) is the world’s leading sustainable fashion design competition that educates and empowers emerging fashion designers about circular design techniques to reduce fashion’s negative environmental impacts. Organised by Hong Kong-based, Asia-focused environmental NGO Redress since 2011, the competition partners with academic institutions globally and attracts designer applicants from over 50 countries and regions to win prizes that connect them with global-leading fashion businesses to accelerate the change to a circular fashion industry.

Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA)

The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) (www.ccida.gov.hk), formerly known as Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) since 2009, was established in June 2024. CCIDA is a dedicated office under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) to provide one-stop services and support to the cultural and creative sectors with a mission to foster a conducive environment in Hong Kong to facilitate development of the arts, culture and creative sectors as industries. CCIDA’s strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, promoting cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary collaboration, promoting industrialisation of the arts, culture and creative sectors under the industry-oriented principle, and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community, thereby reinforcing Hong Kong as Asia’s creative capital and our positioning as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.

Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organisers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.