Meet Grace Lant , Redress Design Award 2020 Womenswear Finalist

GRACE LANT

HONG KONG

The resilience and resourcefulness of minority people, captured in powerful documentary photography, provide the springboard for Grace Lant’s collection for the Redress Design Award. Amalgamation is created from deadstock, sampling yardage and end-of-rolls, sourced from some of the best Italian and Hong Kong mills. Using zero-waste techniques, woven pieces are classic and versatile, designed to be worn over many years.

Animal prints create the impression of garments that “transcend race, gender and social class, representing a universal skin and giving any woman who wears it the confidence and power to fight for good,” says Grace. Low-impact materials and fibres are a specialty for the Hong Kong-born designer, who holds both a BA (Hons) Degree in Fashion Knitwear from Central Saint Martins and a Master’s in Creative Knitwear Design from Accademia Costume e Moda, Italy. It was while creating a competition collection in Alpaca with Max Mara that she became aware of the sustainable and ethical realities of the industry.

“For me it’s the speed - the speed of designing, manufacturing and consuming,” she reflects. “Everything needs to slow down. We need the time to consider in order to create the right products. Sustainable fashion is a means of still creating and expressing through the forms of textiles and garments, without creating a negative impact on the world,” Grace continues. “It requires the designer to think past the final garment, through its life and how it will eventually give back. It’s an exciting new problem to solve, one which requires great imagination, consideration and knowledge.”