The Kering Awards for Sustainable Fashion 2018 saw CSF, Kering and the two Kering Brands: Alexander McQueen and Pomellato shortlist 11 students as finalists. These students come from a range of backgrounds and study at both BA and MA level at LCF. All final shortlisted students receive mentoring from both Pomellato and CSF during the incubation process of the Awards. In the summer term they present their projects to an expert panel at the Kering HQ in London.
We hear from the 6 students shortlisted for their work in sustainability for Pomellato: an Italian jewellery brand with a focus on craftmanship, empowering women and sustainable sourcing.
Winner: Hanna Moser
(Left)
Why did you decided to enter the Kering Awards?
I decided to enter the Kering Awards as I thought it is a great opportunity for students to make an actual change in the fashion industry in terms of sustainability by collaborating with a world leading and influential company like Kering, who are continuously innovating their sustainability practices. Having in mind that Kering has the capabilities to bring my idea and project to life in the end of the award process really motivated me working on it. Besides that, I’ve always been interested in everything around sustainability in fashion and especially in the luxury industry as I’ve already focused my bachelor thesis around the topic.
What is your vision of sustainability in fashion/sustainable fashion?
I hope that the fashion industry is becoming more transparent for consumers as well as businesses in the future as the supply chains are still very opaque and not accessible for everyone. This is in my opinion one of the most important things as so many humans and animals in the world as well as the environment still suffer from it. If everyone would see the actual impacts there would be change for the better.
Why did you decide to submit a project for Pomellato?
I decided to submit my project for Pomellato as I’ve recently read a lot about the use and potential of Blockchain technology within jewellery supply chains, I am also writing my master dissertation on it. Therefore Pomellato, as a leading luxury jewellery retailer, was the obvious and better fitting choice for my project and I really enjoyed working with them.
Winner: Tiphaine Marie Pittet
(Right)
Why did you decide to enter the Kering Awards?
The Kering Awards have been a great opportunity to expand my interest in sustainability, especially within fashion and luxury.
What is your vision of sustainability in fashion/sustainable fashion?
I believe that exploring sustainable fashion is the only long-term solution to the problems the fashion industry is currently facing or will be in the future. Over the past few decades we have become used to consuming so much, at such a fast pace that the impact on the environment and workers is becoming increasingly worrying. We need to act now to make change happen and work towards a more ethical fashion industry.
Why did you decide to submit a project for Pomellato?
I have always loved jewellery and even though I was not particularly familiar with the sector, I knew there were many possibilities to work towards more sustainability, especially around raw materials and their traceability. I also love the values Pomellato stand for and was excited about the opportunity to work with such a beautiful, iconic brand.
Winner: Maria Flores Parra
Why did you decide to enter the Kering Awards?
Because it is an incredible opportunity to learn about sustainability and luxury fashion, it is a way to get involved with the CSF and it is challenging. When I researched about LCF before applying for the course I took, I found out about the partnership between Kering and the CSF and about the Awards. For me to be part of this has been a dream.
What is your vision of sustainability in fashion/sustainable fashion?
I think there is much to do towards a better industry, however, I am glad that many big and small brands are aware of the change we need in fashion and are improving. I firmly believe in how important is to empower artisans from countries like Chile. I value their work and I think that to make them part of a manufacturing process of a big fashion brand is amazing. On the other hand, one of the most important things for me in fashion is to know where the product comes from, who made it and the origin of the materials. I have a strong connection with the products I decide to buy and I really enjoy knowing the stories behind the pieces.
Why did you decide to submit a project for Pomellato?
This was the first time I was thinking about a project related to jewellery and the idea mixed a new area for me, sustainability, luxury fashion and my country, everything was special about the project. Pomellato is an amazing luxury brand and having the opportunity to develop an idea for them is incredible.
The fact that one of the missions of Pomellato is to empower women made me think about how important is to value the work of lapis lazuli artisans from Chile who are women. Every piece that Pomellato offers to its clients is special. The products have a story and have been handcrafted “safeguarding the heritage of jewellery making”.
Moreover, the brand is aware of finding transparent sources for their products and at the same time puts people first, which for me is key. We are living in a world where sometimes we forget how valuable human work is.
Fang-Yu Lin
Why did you decided to enter the Kering Awards?
I heard about the Kering Awards from one of the graduates from my course. Her advice and feedback from the previous year combined with the fact that one of the brands taking part was a luxury jewellery brand-made me decide to enter the Awards. The Kering Awards are a great opportunity to work with luxury jewellery brand and gain a real insight into industry and understand more about what sustainable efforts have been made and are being made in these luxury brands. Moreover, it is a great chance to improve and professionalize my concept and research of my final year project.
What is your vision of sustainability in fashion/sustainable fashion?
Sustainability for me is a new subject. I have started on a journey of learning about sustainability since being here in London, studying fashion jewellery. My perception of sustainable fashion is the idea of understanding and taking more care of both our planet and people. I believe a sustainable future has already become a goal of many designers and people today. As a young jewellery designer, my first step to approach sustainability is to conduct research on the environmental impacts and ethical properties of the raw materials used in jewellery industry and exploring new eco-friendly, natural or ethical materials to create a more sustainable future.
Why did you decide to submit a project for Pomellato?
Coming from fashion jewellery background, it is a great opportunity to have Pomellato, a luxury fashion jewellery brand participating in the Kering Awards. After reading their vision in empowering women, green community, preserving craftsmanship and their efforts in sourcing traceable precious metal, stones and diamonds, I found my idea of looking at the sustainability in materials can sit well with the brand. Referencing the Jet Collection from Pomellato, I think my project of applying new natural and ethical materials into jewellery design can also become an opportunity for the brands.
Pippa Smart
Why did you decide to enter the Kering Awards?
Until recently, it’s been difficult to find many options of working for an established and large company that shows real commitment and care in the Fashion and Sustainability space. It is so encouraging and I admire Kering for helping incubate some disruptive initiatives outside their brand portfolio. I thought the awards were such a unique opportunity to engage with the luxury sector, understanding where the industry is at, as well as academics from the Centre for Sustainable Fashion. I also felt I had an interesting perspective and skill set to offer. I am passionate about sustainability and it’s my ambition this becomes central to my career, so I applied.
What is your vision of sustainability in fashion/sustainable fashion?
For me, sustainability is about using resources to fulfil our needs at a rate nature or technology can replenish and preserve them for the future generations to meet their needs. I hope we will transition to a circular economy that runs on renewable energy to help achieve this. But I don’t think it’s the single solution, and we must move beyond problem minimising. It’s essential when talking about sustainability to consider, what is it that we are sustaining? What status quo are we preserving? So in this sense, it’s also about social justice, equality and lives well lived.
My future vision of sustainability and fashion is one where individuals have healthier relationships with clothing, and fashion imagery, that embellishes their well-being and identity, instead of defining or undermining it. In terms of manufacturing and making clothing, I hope relationships and dialogue between all stakeholder will become more important, where the voice of the maker and the environment is on the same level as the designer and commercial or finance director. And that when we talk about value and profit generated by a product we talk about it in relation to cultural, community and environmental value added as well as the value to the economy.
Why did you decide to submit a project for Pomellato?
I choose Pomellato because I loved and identified with their ethos and brand pillars of being a patron of crafts and also empowering women. When I learnt they made everything in-house, I realised just how much control they had over their making processes. I thought that was a really unique position to be able to innovate, and potentially work very closely with the goldsmiths and creative team.
Emily Kelly
Why did you decide to enter the Kering Awards?
I decided to enter the Kering Award to challenge myself to explore new ways in which I could combine my design and development skills with my interest in sustainability. It seemed the perfect opportunity to explore a new area of sustainability in fashion, especially when researching Pomellato and the jewellery sector, something which I had little knowledge of prior to this process.
What is your vision of sustainability in fashion/sustainable fashion?
For me, sustainable fashion means a balance between creativity and social responsibility. Our global society has been making bad decisions to do with consumption for a long time and the consequences are being more and more exposed in mainstream media. It feels like a very important time to be searching for solutions and working with brands to ensure transparency across their production lines in order to promote ethical, fair trade and waste-free systems.
From a communication design point of view, the challenges lie around shifting the public’s perception of what they assume the aesthetic of sustainable fashion to be and encouraging them that it is cool to care. My vision of sustainability in fashion is a system that acknowledges the current issues from sourcing, to production, to consumer and constantly seeks new ways to become less harmful, socially and environmentally.
Why did you decide to submit a project for Pomellato?
Researching the jewellery sector was an exciting and new opportunity for me, I enjoyed understanding more about the sector.
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