Kering announces winners of 2017 Award for Sustainable Fashion

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 12, 2017

Kering and the London College of Fashion revealed on Wednesday the winners of the 2017 Kering Award for Sustainable Fashion at the fourth edition of Kering Talk.

The event was attended by more than 350 guests, including sustainability experts, journalists and fashion industry professionals. Gucci President and CEO Marco Bizzarri was the guest of honour and keynote speaker.

The four winners were selected from a shortlist of 10 finalists for their outstanding suitability-focused projects. A total of 100 London College of Fashion students have participated in the sustainability challenge, providing creative and achievable solutions to a project brief defined by Kering brands Gucci and Stella McCartney.

Laure Fernandez and Charlie Wilkinson were selected for Gucci, while Dianjen Lin and Jennifer Kusowski were named for Stella McCartney.

Fernandez created a new method of designing and printing patterns using microbial pigments, while Lin undertook promising preliminary research into producing clothing that absorbs CO2. Both these winners will receive a research grant of €10,000.

Meanwhile, Wilkinson and Kusowski have been awarded an internship at Gucci and Stella McCartney, respectively. Wilkinson’s project aimed to replace the plastic inner materials in Gucci’s luggage with cork and bio-resin, while Kusowski developed a proposal for the UK’s first fibre shed.

The Kering Award for Sustainable Fashion is co-developed by Kering and the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at LCF. Alexander McQueen and Pomellato will be the brands defining the competition next year.