British designer Kate Morris has won the EcoChic Design Award in Hong Kong, beating contestants from 46 countries.

A runway finale followed a week of design exploration with the focus on changing the face of fashion from being one of the world’s most wasteful industries, says Redress, the NGO that organises the awards.

Morris won with her demonstration of the power of the circular economy where nothing goes to waste. All collections were made from textile waste, ranging from bridalwear off-cuts combined with military uniforms to abandoned umbrellas and damaged yarns.

Hong Kong semi-finalist Gao Qing Zi was awarded the Hong Kong Best title for her outfit made for a local indie musician.

Israeli designer Lia Kassif took two prizes, as award runner-up (mentorship with Orsola de Castro) and the special prize of mentorship with Ellen Loo.

Kate Morris will go forward to create a collection for BYT, a new Hong Kong affordable-luxury brand from Redress that will retail in Lane Crawford and Barneys in New York.

“I believe the fashion industry has reached a critical point and I want to part of the change – designing sustainable items of beauty for the masses is my dream,” says Morris.

Her winning knitwear collection is being featured as an installation at Lane Crawford.

About 600 guests attended the awards, including influential industry players and VIPs.

Redress founder Christina Dean says the fashion industry is one of the biggest global polluters, a the event’s 10 finalists were a small snapshot of the creativity “that can drive us out of crisis”.