Sustainable fashion design competition Redress Design Award has named Federico Badini Confalonieri from Italy as the first prize winner of this year’s round.

Confalonieri impressed the judges with his collection ‘Micro – Rain’ which uses zero-waste techniques to upcycle waste fabrics from his previous collections, and draws attention to the issue of microplastics in the fashion industry, with garments made with synthetic fabrics that have an incorporated filter fabric to retain pollution during washing.

“This prize is about more than winning a competition,” said Confalonieri, who has secured an opportunity to work with VF Corp’s fashion brand Timberland on a sustainable design project as the winner. “It will give me even more energy and determination to work towards building together a more sustainable fashion industry.

“I am humbled that the jury selected me among such skilled designers! We sustainable designers may have competed, but the reality is that collaboration creates greater fashion.”

Confalonieri will work closely with VF Corp’s sustainability and responsibility teams across the supply chain from responsible design to marketing. The collaboration will culminate in the launch of Timberland’s Lunar New Year 2024 Collection.

“We were blown away by the quality of the finalists’ designs this year. The commitment and integrity of each designer in their pursuit for eco-innovation are incredible,” said Puneet Khosla, VP and MD at Timberland Asia Pacific. 

The competition received more than 450 entries from 47 countries and regions, a list narrowed down to nine finalists from Italy, Spain, Chile, Brazil, Hong Kong, India and Sri Lanka. 

Meanwhile, the capsule collection designed by last year’s Redress winner Jessica Chang – the Year of the Rabbit Collection – is preparing to launch early next year.