A total of 20 European fashion and design schools took part in the 2nd Fashioning Sustainability competition organised by Freudenberg Performance Materials with co-branding partners Macpi and Bemberg by Asahi Kasei.

Freudenberg invited talented young designers to create and submit their ideas for sustainable clothing and two of the most innovative outfits from each school were selected for the final round and presented to an international jury at the Bagni Misteriosi event held in Milan in May. Fashion design experts, opinion leaders and journalists were invited to select the most sustainable designs in the two categories of Technology and Design.

First place in the Technology category went to Judith Marquant and the second to Jagoda Sokolowska, both students of the fashion school Esmod in Paris. Ilaria De Martino, from the fashion institute Modartech in Italy, and Xiaodan Liao from Polimoda, Italy, were awarded first and second place in the Design category. The first-placed winners received €2,000, while the second placed won €1,000.

“I’m grateful to my teachers who believed in my creation and to Freudenberg for this opportunity” said Ilaria De Martino “I used the leftovers coming from the denim industry and Freudenberg interlinings made of recycled PET. Taking into consideration the environmental and the ethical impact of production is a must if we want to have a sustainable fashion industry.”

All participants benefited from the platform to network with leading players in the garment industry and learn more about concrete steps for embracing sustainability. Creating true sustainability in the fashion industry means reducing the material flow of clothing, addressing both sustainable production and consumption.

“At Freudenberg we believe that sustainability drives innovation,” said Hannah Koeppen, general manager of Freudenberg Apparel Europe. “With our apparel solutions, we are doing our part by minimising footprint through the reduced consumption of energy and raw materials.”

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