HSL declares winners of sustainable sweater design contest
Designers from 14 countries, including Bangladesh, took part in the contest
Hera Sweaters Limited (HSL) has announced the winners of the Sustainable Sweater Design Contest 2021, which the company launched last year to recognise emerging sweater designers worldwide and encourage them on their way to ensuring higher sustainability and responsibility, says a press release.
Contestants from 14 countries, namely the US, Ukraine, UK, Sweden, South Korea, Slovakia, Poland, Malaysia, Lithuania, Ireland, Iran, India, China, and Bangladesh participated in the competition. The judges were Bibi Russell and Mohammad Iftekhar Rahman from Bangladesh, while from the UK, there were Emma McClelland and Aysen Bayram.
Among the 20 finalists the three toppers were: Agata Pasieczna Vena Pe (Poland) in first place, Nicole O'Reilly (Ireland) came in second, and Erin Fairall (UK) was third.
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Hera Sweaters Limited, which has a Leed Gold certified sweater factory in Bangladesh, is committed to a sustainable production process, and believes in the principles of "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle".
Champion- Agata Pasieczna (Vena Pe)
She is a designer, who graduated from Fashion Design in 2020 from National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland. A single mother with two small children, Agata encountered many challenges and hardships to realise her lifelong dream of becoming a fashion designer.
Being committed to preservation and sustainability, Agata uses organic or recycled fabric and yarns, trying to stay as sustainable as possible. Working only with natural materials supports her moral values, and provides the wearer an opportunity to wear garments made with love and higher understanding.
1st Runner Up- Nicole O'Reilly
She is a young designer, originally from Dublin who has very recently relocated to Wicklow Ireland. She graduated in 2020 from NCAD with an international degree in Fashion Design specializing in knitwear and since then has been working in sustainable fashion hub Studio minti.
2nd Runner Up- Erin Fairall
She is a student of Kingston University London, studying BA Fashion and specializing in knit and print design within fashion. She experiments with shape and surface through collage and mark-making, where she can be most creative and playful with color and fabrics. Erin enjoys translating these ideas and textures through knitwear techniques such as intarsia and jacquard, working with certified sustainable materials, and utilizing dead stock and second-hand yarn to prevent these materials from ending up in landfill. She has recently launched her own business, specializing in children's and women's knitwear. Erin hopes that by sharing new and eco-friendly ways to shop consciously, she can convince consumers to reject fast fashion and instead, choose sustainable and natural materials, cherishing the clothes they have and making them last for generations to come.
