The Fashion Future Challenge Award is a student fashion competition for universities and tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Aside from the two teams of ITC students who took part and were selected as finalists in the 2019 competition, the other competing teams included students from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The University of Hong Kong.
One of the teams of ITC students with BA Years 3 and 4 students, including Leung Wai-chi Vincci, Lo Ching-yin Michelle, Ng Hoi-kei Kylah and Yu Ying-wa Sophos, received Champion for their proposal “Sustainable Dyes”. The second PolyU team selected as a finalist included BA Year 3 students Ma Hoi-Yan Phyllis and Wong Lok-tin Jackson. The winning team proposed to reduce the amount of chemical pollution that results from the production of garments and give new life to the food waste produced by the community by turning food and other yard waste like flowers and leaves into sustainable organic dyes. At the same time, they proposed to increase the life span of each piece of fabric to reduce local textiles and clothing waste. They were awarded an internship opportunity at the Nan Fung Group and a cash prize of $15,000 sponsored by The Mills Fabrica.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the finalists submitted their video presentations for final assessment to a panel of judges, who included the Hon. Felix Chung Kwok-pan, Mr Alexander Chan of The Mills Fabrica, Prof. Philip Yeung of the Clothing Industry Training Authority, Ms Kay Liu of Redress, Ms Karen Ho of WWF-Hong Kong and Mr Kelvin Cheuk of American & Efird (HK) Ltd.
About the Summit and the Award
The Fashion Summit (Hong Kong) is an event that focuses on "Sustainable Development In Fashion". The event brings together leading academics, key players from the fashion industry, NGOs, the media, decision makers and leaders to achieve sustainable fashion in Asia. The Summit was held successfully on 5 and 6 September in 2019. The Fashion Summit is a platform for the next generation to brew, exchange and share their creative ideas that help to tackle future fashion challenges in the next 5 to 10 years. One of the highlights of the Summit, the Fashion Future Challenge Award, aims to help students propose solutions to the fashion industry towards future challenges; enhance their creativity as well as critical thinking, problem-solving and presentation skills; and exchange ideas with specialists/professionals from the industries.
The judging criteria for the proposals focused on the four following areas:
- Innovativeness: Demonstrate insight into the industries and capability to meet industry needs
- Feasibility: Viability of application of proposed solutions in the industries
- Sustainability: Balance among economic, social and environmental performances
- Content Comprehensiveness: Application of acquired skills and theoretical knowledge to provide innovative and practical business solutions