1st edition of the Responsible Fashion Awards
Design your eco-friendly collection with LPP and MSKPU – the first edition of the Responsible Fashion Awards competition has started
At the beginning of June the first ecological competition “Responsible Fashion Awards” organized by the International School of Costume and Fashion Design was launched. The partner of the competition is LPP, a Polish clothing manufacturer, owner of such brands as Reserved, Mohito, Cropp, House i Sinsay. The aim of the competition is to promote the idea of designing clothes in the spirit of ecology and ethics. Competition works can be submitted by 18 September. The finalists will receive, among others, cash prizes, participation in a course on responsible and sustainable fashion and a one-year scholarship to study at the MSKPU.
The Responsible Fashion Awards competition is open to both professional designers with experience and proper education, as well as enthusiasts not professionally connected with the fashion and design industry. – We dedicate this project to all those who want to know more about responsible fashion, the assumptions of CSR in the clothing industry, as well as technological solutions for sustainable design and production of clothing. It is a noble initiative that we can implement thanks to cooperation with LPP. The competition is unique on a global scale, and its participants, apart from financial awards and scholarships, receive eco textiles and eco sewing accessories to sew the competition pieces. Nobody else does it – comments Magdalena Płonka, PhD, Director of MSKPU.
The aim of the competition is to disseminate knowledge about ecological and ethical solutions in the textile industry. At the stage of applications to the competition, participants must make sketches of the collection, which is ultimately to be made of environmentally friendly materials.
– The most important in this competition is knowledge and awareness of the responsibility that rests on the designers of clothing. The ecological approach begins in the mind of the creator, which is why it is so important to work at grass roots level and make sustainable decisions already at the design stage. Designers are important initiators of changes in the clothing industry, because it is their approach that determines whether the ecological trend will become timeless fashion– says Anna Miazga, CSR coordinator in LPP – Therefore, in order to support the participants in preparing for the competition, we decided to develop a catalogue of ecological fabrics, thanks to which they will create a concept based on sustainable materials from scratch. Participants can also count on our substantive support during the competition – adds Anna Miazga.
Partnership in the RFA competition is a natural step for LPP as a company that consistently strives for ecological solutions. – In LPP designers and buyers take part in workshops where they learn what designing with eco-friendly materials is all about and how to reduce the use of natural resources. It is supposed to be a source of inspiration for them to introduce ecology into their collections. We are committed to mutual exchange of knowledge, so we believe that by sharing our experiences with the participants of the competition we will contribute to the initiation of an ecological approach to fashion in the Polish clothing industry – adds Anna Miazga.
Competition schedule
Step 1: Becoming acquainted with samples of eco textiles available at the location of MSKPU and LPP or through the electronic catalogue available at – https://mskpu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/RFA19_Katalog_jakości-1-1.pdf
Step 2: Preparation of eco-collection designs consisting of up to 10 female or male silhouettes and submission of sketches together with a detailed description by 18 September 2019. Ideas should be designed on the basis of samples of ecological fabrics made available by the organizer. Competition entries should be submitted in one of two categories: professional or enthusiast.
Step 3:By 30 September, the Jury will announce the semi-finalists who, thanks to the ecological materials donated by LPP, will be able to reproduce the selected clothing model from the designed collection.
Step 4: On 14 November 2019 the semi-finalists will each have the opportunity to present 1 implemented (created) model. During the event, the finalists of the competition in the category of professional and enthusiast will also be selected. Both winners will receive further fabrics to implement (create) full collections to be delivered to MSKPU by 10 March 2020. The final step will be to present the winning designs at the MSKPU Graduation Show in March 2020.
Criteria and awards
The Competition Jury will evaluate the works in terms of the artistic potential of the design, aesthetic and ecological values, appropriate use of the features of fabric samples, which should be used to implement (create) the collection, and on the basis of the final interview with the Jury.
Participants will not have to wait until the finals to be rewarded for their creative effects, as all semi-finalists will have a chance to take part in a week-long course on sustainable fashion organised by MSKPU in November 2019. In addition, LPP will provide eco-friendly fabrics for selected semi-final models and two winning full collections. The organizers also ensure cash prizes – for two finalists of both categories – professional and enthusiast, each of whom will receive PLN 5000 from MSKPU and a scholarship for one year’s study at MSKPU in the 2020/2021 academic year
More information on the competition available at https://mskpu.pl/responsible-fashion-awards/, in the Terms and Conditions and the competition form available at https://mskpu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Regulamin-i-formularz-zg%C5%82oszeniowy-RFA.pdf.
Detailed information may be obtained by contacting the Secretary’s Office of MSKP https://mskpu.pl/kontakt.
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LPP SA is a Polish family business and one of the fastest growing clothing companies in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. For over 25 years it has been successfully operating in Poland and abroad, offering its collections already on 24 markets, including in such prestigious capitals as London, Berlin, Tel Aviv or Moscow. LPP SA manages five fashion brands: Reserved, Cropp, House, Mohito, and Sinsay. The company has a chain of 1,700 stores with the total area of over 1 million sq.m. and operates online stores in 12 European countries. On the basis of a global supply chain, the Polish clothing producer distributes over 200 million pieces of clothing to three continents. LPP plays another important role as it employs over 25 thousand people in its offices and sales structures in Poland, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The company is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the WIG20 index and belongs to the prestigious MSCI Poland index.