Designing for zero waste
Tess Whifort and her winning collection | Redress Design Award 2018
2018 was quite a year for Tess Whitfort. After winning the Redress Design Award, the Australian sustainable fashion designer developed her competition collection from catwalk sensation into a real commercial proposition, in collaboration with luxury up-cycling brand The R Collective.
Bold, streamlined and utilitarian, Tess’ designs for The R Collective were created from rescued denim, crepe, wool and cotton-salvaged from world leading brands, mills and manufacturers - and included an aviation-inspired jumpsuit, an experimental dress with adjustable belted detailing and a varsity-style zip up jacket.
Her collection represents a perfect blend of The R Collective’s aesthetic of timeless luxury with Tess’ signature chutzpah. “I wanted to incorporate a bit of attitude and punk into the collection,” says Tess, who has a Degree in Fashion Design from Australia’s Box Hill Institute.
“Sustainable fashion is often portrayed as natural, feminine and wholesome. I create grungy streetwear so that badasses can wear ethical clothing too! Environmental issues are going to affect us all. Sustainability has to be for everyone.”
Working closely with manufacturer TAL Apparel, Tess developed groundbreaking fabric utilisation techniques that meant that several styles in her collection achieved less than one per cent fabric waste, against an industry norm of 15 per cent. Tess’ collection for The R Collective represents another big step forward in catalysing a circular fashion system that avoids the need to create virgin materials.
“The biggest thing I’ve learnt is that it’s really important for us to integrate sustainable techniques into the fashion industry,” reflects Tess. “Rather than thinking about sustainable design as a niche, we need to look at ways of making sustainable fashion profitable and applicable to all aspects of the fashion industry.”
Tess’ collection, which retailed at Lane Crawford, looks to be the first of many inspiring collaborations between The R Collective and Redress Design Award Alumni, which continued earlier this year with ‘Rinse’, a capsule range by 2015/16 finalist Wen Pan. Seven pieces, created in limited quantities using rescued excess luxury fabrics, were inspired by ideas of beauty in imperfection and the stories our wardrobes tell.
“‘Rinse’ shows that you don’t need to make a loud statement to support sustainable fashion,” says Wen. “When women wear pieces from my collection, they can feel a strong pride and inner confidence, ‘I am what I am, and I am making a small effort to make the Earth better, which makes me really cool.’”
This article originally appeared in the Redress Design Award 2019 Magazine.