The Fashion Values Challenge is now drawing to a close. As you may know, the Fashion Values Challenge is an open call out to change-makers who are looking to shake up the fashion industry with new products, systems and services. This year’s Challenge was guided by the central question of “how can fashion value society?”. The brief called for applicants to come up with transformational ideas across the fields of design, media or technology, demonstrating how their project supports a fashion system that values society rather than exploits it.

After receiving many exceptional applications, our panel of judges narrowed down six finalists (three students and three industry professionals). As part of our ongoing partnership with Global Fashion Agenda, the finalist’s’ projects will be showcased at the upcoming Fashion Values event, taking place at the 2023 Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen on Monday 26th June. The winners of the Challenge will also be revealed at this event, so stay tuned for the official announcement. In the meantime, read on for a roundup of our finalists and their projects.

Student Finalists

Hanan Tantush - Intotum

Final year student Hanan’s (London College of Fashion) brand ‘Intotum’ explores inclusive, adaptive fashion. Inspired by lived family experience, Hanan has partnered with charities and worked with accessibility consultants to establish Intotum. Through the lens of design, Hanan has developed a collection of clothing which empowers the disabled community and highlights the possibilities for what accessible fashion can look like. Through this, it aims to create a working framework that other brands can use to promote inclusivity and prevent ableism.

Neha Mathew - Haav

Neha is the founder of social enterprise ‘Haav’. Haav repurposes surplus fabric into unique products which are made by women from disadvantaged communities in England and India. Haav has partnered with the EGNA charity to deliver training workshops to a community of women in Southampton (UK), equipping them with skills they can take into their own practice. Through Haav, Neha addresses the challenges that female artisans face in the supply chain and provides a safe space for disadvantaged community to share ideas, build community and learn new skills.

Prakriti Choubey - Avatrina

Prakriti is a student at London College of Fashion. Prakriti's concept ‘Avatrina’ (meaning ‘incarnated’) is a platform that embodies social change by disrupting the way current traditional crafts are seen and presents them in the virtual world. This not only creates commercial opportunities for artisans, but offers them a platform to preserve traditional heritage crafts and have their skills recognised. Prakriti’s aim is to spark interest in these artisans and share stories of how they use their skills to create their garments.

Industry Finalists

Sandra González – Deiv/Bassen

Sandra is a fashion designer from South Americia. Her casual brand Deiv/Bassen focuses on working with artisans and creates made-to-order genderless garments. Every piece of clothing is uniquely crafted with planet and people in mind, from the source of material to those who produce it. Sandra finds inspiration from the challenges around producing sustainably in the face of the fast fashion system. Through working closely with communities and artisans, Deiv/Bassen aims to pave the way for a system that helps us to establish a better connection between nature, people and clothing.

Paula and Micaela – DCC x Studio Cumbre

Spanish based fashion designers Paula and Micaela specialise in sustainable fashion technology. Through their shared values, the pair founded the platform ‘Design for Cultural Collaboration’. This platform aims to celebrate and elevate tradition through creative design and technology. It offers customised projects at creative consultation services, with the aim of building bridges between Latin American traditional communities and global fashion brands. By preserving and celebrating traditional craft whilst harnessing innovative technology, the brand promotes an equitable and sustainable future for the fashion industry.

Misaki Tanaka – Solit

Based in Tokyo (Japan), Misaki is the founder of ‘Solit’. The brand provides an all-inclusive service which allows customers the freedom to choose what they really want to wear. Solit takes a personal approach and prioritises human connection, encouraging individuals to participate more in fashion society than the current system. Due to the issues surrounding the current fashion system such as climate change and sizing challenges, Misaki believes this presents a challenge for individuals to make informed decisions of what they really want to wear. Therefore, Solit is a direct response to this challenge. The brand is built upon a zero-waste policy and collaborates with social minorities from the planning stage to build confidence and add value.

The Global Fashion Summit is taking place in Copenhagen from the 27-28th June 2023. For more information on the summit and what’s happening, follow the link here. We will be posting more about the showcase event and the Challenge winners over the coming weeks, so do keep your eyes on our website and social channels.

Watch our Fashion Values Finalists Showcase film here!