RESPONSIBLE FASHION AWARDS
The Responsible Fashion Awards competition has been organised by the International School of Costume and Fashion Design in collaboration with LPP since 2019. The main aim is to promote pro-ethical and eco-friendly solutions in the fashion industry and to support young designers working with sustainability in mind.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION
The competition is open to both professional designers and enthusiasts not professionally involved in the fashion and design industry.
At the competition entry stage, participants make sketches of the collection, which is ultimately to be made from environmentally friendly materials supplied by LPP. The jury selects the 10 best designs; the winner of the competition receives materials for sewing a full collection consisting of six silhouettes and is granted a financial prize of PLN 10,000.
An additional prize in the 3rd edition of the competition was a photo shoot of all final designs in the Reserved photo studio in Pruszcz Gdański and their presentation in the window displays of the brand stores. They can be viewed from 7 to 14 November 2022 in Gdańsk at Galeria Bałtycka, in Warsaw at Galeria Mokotów, in Cracow at Galeria Bonarka and in Łódź at Manufaktura, and the collection of the winner, Dominik Żyż – on Oxford Street in London from 23 November to 7 December 2022. The Reserved Visual Communication team was responsible for the photo shoot and the design and implementation of the store windows.
DISCOVER THE WORKS OF THE WINNERS
DOMINIK ŻYŻA
Designer profile:
Student at the Władysław Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. Winner of RFA 2022 and finalist of OFF Fashion Kielce 2022. He works on developing his brand, and fashion is for him a tool to make people happy. He is a perfectionist, improving his tailoring skills all the time. He attaches great importance to the contact with the recipient of his designs. In addition to fashion, he has been interested in insects and macro wildlife photography for many years.
Collection description:
The “Naturalisation” collection combines elements typical of classic tailoring with organic forms inspired by shapes from the natural world. It combines the two seemingly disparate worlds of classic clothing and inspiration drawn from nature, thus showing the future of fashion in which designers will use materials produced without negative impact on the environment in order to save the earth’s natural values.
ALICJA BOGUSZ
Designer profile:
Fashion design student at the Władysław Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. She has completed internships at the Doom3k and Osnova brands. Her passion for fashion was developed in her by her grandmother, who was a dressmaker. In addition to fashion and art, I am also interested in psychology. In the future, she plans to open her own brand, where she will combine ecological and ethical production solutions with the need to create beautiful things. For her, clothes are the medium through which she talks about the world.
Silhouette description:
The “APOKALIPT” collection is inspired by an apocalyptic vision of a world devastated by climate crisis and war. It is intended to make us reflect on where we are heading and what we can do to prevent annihilation. The bright colour scheme alludes to a glow of dust. In creating the collection, the designer focused on interesting construction solutions and reducing the amount of fabric used. Many cuts allowed the pieces to be arranged like a jigsaw puzzle, reducing the use of fabric.
MAŁGORZATA DZIERŻĘGA
Designer profile:
Fashion design student at the International School of Costume and Fashion Design. She has made it through to several finals in fashion competitions, including landing 3rd place in the Circular Tex Hub competition. She is passionate about art, mainly painting, and in her designs she always wants to go a step further and add a creative element to spark interest and surprise the viewer. At the same time, she attaches importance to the usability of the clothes and strives for an ethical message behind the designs.
Silhouette description:
The collection harks back to the current trends of the 90s/00s, with a Matrix-style leather coat that is fitted to the figure and emphasises the assets of the figure. However, this typically avant-garde fashion outfit is utilitarian and has elements that can be combined with other styles. The coat becomes a waistcoat when the sleeves are unbuttoned, and the slits at the sleeves of the dress make it easy to wear.
ALEKSANDRA DZWONKOWSKA
Designer profile:
Graduate of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, Faculty of Painting, with a specialisation in Experimental Textile, graduate of the International School of Costume Design and Fashion Design and the Make UP STAR make-up school. A fashion, music and art enthusiast, she draws her creative inspiration mainly from pop culture and nature. In her work she often refers to the aesthetics of the 1960s/1970s and pop art. Among other things, she works as a make-up artist for photo shoots and at sets. She loves concerts and spending time among nature.
Silhouette description:
The silhouette that was created for the RFA competition comes from the IRIS AGRIS collection, the name of which can be explained in two ways: it can be either “field of irises” or “sour iris”. The outfit is reminiscent of the festival’s stage stylings. The colourful paint motifs are inspired by psychedelic design from the 1960s/70s, with geometric forms intermingling with organic ones. To achieve the deep hues, she used natural dyes obtained from spices.
DOROTA GĄSIOROWSKA-SKRZYPEK
Designer profile:
Student at the International School of Costume and Fashion Design. Professionally involved in graphic design. In the future, she wants to create circular fashion, things that are made in harmony with nature. For her, design is a kind of communication and expression of thoughts, so the character of the clothes is important. In her spare time, she paints pictures and restores old furniture.
Silhouette description:
The silhouette from the ‘Asymétrie’ collection is a collection of thoughts on the composition of colours and fabric structures. The asymmetrical silhouette was inspired by nature, rich in a variety of forms and light and shadow that bring out or extinguish colours. The silhouette is distinguished by its capacity to change form: you can detach the outer collar to be left with an airy coat that gives lightness, and by detaching the asymmetrical skirt obtain comfortable, asymmetrical and fancy shorts.
MARIIA HOROBENKO
Designer profile:
Fashion design student at the International School of Costume and Fashion Design, graduating with a BA in economics. The RFA is the first fashion competition she has participated in. For her, fashion is an art, a way to tell a story and express herself through form. In her free time she sketches, creates accessories and works with clay.
Silhouette description:
The collection for RFA was inspired by Ukrainian culture, its history and national ornaments. It was named after the designer’s great-grandmother, Varvara, from whom she learned many old stories and beliefs. The long white dress with blue flowers represents the core of Ukrainian culture, while the black elements and red flowers represent the nation’s endless struggle for freedom, and sorrow. The silhouette that was submitted for the competition was entirely hand-embroidered using Oeko-Tex-certified thread. The embroidery on the skirt itself took 72h to complete.
GABRIELA KOZULA
Designer profile:
Student of design – clothing architecture at the Łódź University of Technology. After participating in the RFA, she completed an internship at LPP, and she sees her future in clothing design. For her, fashion is a way to express oneself and communicate with the world. She believes that it allows us to talk about what is important to us, what we want to fight against, what we love. Her biggest dream is to be able to explore new places all the time, to combine her passion with her professional work and to gain new experiences . She is keen on music and travel.
Silhouette description:
The collection was inspired by the dandelion, a very fragile and ephemeral plant that can symbolise the fragility of our planet. The main idea was to create silhouettes made up of versatile but interesting pieces, giving the possibility of juxtaposing them with many pieces of clothing, so that a wide variety of looks could be created in the process. The design is distinguished by its versatility and the possibility of using fashion in everyday life. An ecological approach to clothing should include both the aspect of using the right materials and the possibility of using them as often and for as long as possible.
MONIKA ŁUCZAK
Designer description:
Graduate of Fashion Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. In October 2022, she started postgraduate studies “Law and management in the fashion sector – sustainable and circular fashion development” at Lazarski University. She is currently designing collections as a freelancer and working on her own brand WOO CHUCK. Finalist of the Italian Fashion Talent Awards 2022, semi-finalist of the R Fashion Designer Awards 2019, winner of Up Cycles 2022 and Fashion Business Game Changer. She often reaches for the camera and looks at fashion through the lens.
Silhouette description:
The showcased silhouette is part of the “Totemic” collection, inspired by traditional crafts and braiding found in many ethnic cultures. In her collection, the designer pays homage to a craft that is increasingly disappearing in times of globalisation. The artistic cotton cord construction owes its colour to natural dyeing based on oak bark. The dyeing process took several days and was completely organic.
JULIA MASŁOSZ
Designer profile:
Graduated from Photography at PWSFTviT in Łódź, Media Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and Fashion Design at MSKPU. Finalist of the Złota Nitka 2021 and Off Fashion 2022 competitions, she often combines various media in her work. For her, fashion is a form of artistic expression and a medium for conveying ideas and own reflections. She focuses her research on the human-nature relationship and issues related to the contemporary and future human condition and identity, including in the context of biotechnology development.
Silhouette description:
The silhouette is a response to the previous collection, “Imago”. Imago signifies the final stage of an insect’s metamorphosis. The silhouette, however, is a representation of a failed transformation and a world that has failed. The butterfly emerges from its cocoon grey, loses its colours and hope in the possibility of change for the better. With its lack of colours, it wants to manifest the problems of ecology and the climate crisis. The silhouette therefore shows the consequences of a lack of transformation. It was inspired primarily by the book “Bio-transfigurations: the art and aesthetics of posthumanism” by Monika Bakke, the “Metamorphosis” project by The Institute of Queer Ecology, bio-art, including “Nature?” project by Marta de Menezes, as well as the phenomenon occurring in nature, namely gynandromorphism.
JOANNA ZONTEK
Designer profile:
Graduate of the International School of Costume and Fashion Design. Two-time finalist of the Responsible Fashion Awards. In the future, she dreams of launching her own fashion brand. She takes a very emotional approach to each design, as most of them are connected to a specific story, phenomenon or private experience. She emphasises that in design, every stage is equally important, from the idea to research, fabric selection and realisation. She is interested in travel and sport, particularly figure skating.
Silhouette description:
The collection is maintained in a futuristic vibe. It tells the story of time, which is precious, passing and never enough. The protagonists of this idea are time travellers, observers who are not affected by the rules of time. The pattern on the back of the jacket refers to a clock. In addition to eco-friendly fabrics such as TENCEL, the collection includes upcycled pieces (hand-sewn jewellery pieces, filling from a quilt) and simple forms that make the collection timeless.
PHOTO GALLERY
