FAQ

Quick Access

Quick Access

About circular fashion

Head to the Redress Academy to find out more about sustainable fashion design and the circular fashion system. You can also take the Redress Circular Fashion Design Course to aid your application.

You can sign up for the Redress Circular Fashion Design Course directly through the competition online application platform, which will grant you exclusive extended access to the course content until the competition closing date of 14 March 2025.

No, your participation in the Redress Design Award Circular Fashion Design Course will NOT be judged or taken into account during the review of your application for the Redress Design Award competition. However, we strongly advise your attendance to support your development and make your application stronger.

About the competition eligibility criteria

Yes, as long as the other application criteria are met.

At Redress we consider professional fashion design experience to mean:

  • Professional experience: full-time, part-time, and freelance experience. Internships and fashion competition applications do not count towards professional experience. However, if you have been the recipient of a competition prize such as short-term working experience, brand collaboration, etc, this will be counted as professional experience.
  • Fashion design experience: working in any subject related to fashion design, textile design, education in fashion & textile design.

If you are not sure about your eligibility before applying, feel free to email us at apply@redress.com.hk. Applicants may be required to submit their curriculum vitae to confirm their eligibility once they’ve applied.

No, you cannot apply. Only applicants with less than four years’ professional fashion design experience can apply. Applicants with over four years’ full-time, part-time, or freelance professional fashion design or textile design experience, or professional experience as a fashion or textile-related educator are not eligible to apply.

Yes, if you still have fewer than four years’ professional fashion design experience. However, you may only reapply if you have not previously won the first or second prize in past cycles of the Redress Design Award.

No, you may only submit one competition entry per cycle. Only your first application will be accepted, any other subsequent applications will be rejected.

Yes. A reasonable level of English is required for applicants as Semi-finalists and Finalists to take part in a variety of activities including interviews, judging, and various Grand Final Week activities in Hong Kong, all of which will be conducted in English. 

 

Applicants can apply to the competition in English or Chinese, however the events in Hong Kong will be conducted in English. The application platform and guidelines are available only in English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese, and all applicants are required to use one of these three languages. Any other languages submitted will not be processed. 

No. There is no fee to enter this competition.

 

If you succeed in reaching the finals, you will have to bear the costs for your own materials/textiles/trims, allocate your own personal time to produce your competition collection, purchase/provide four pairs of shoes to accompany your Grand Final Fashion Show collection (you will have the right to keep the shoes after the Grand Final), and provide packing materials for the shipping of your collection to Hong Kong, such as carton boxes, tapes, and garment bags.

 

Redress will cover the shipping costs of your collection outfits to Hong Kong (terms and conditions apply). Redress will also cover the costs of the fashion shoot, the travel and accommodation of the Finalists’ visit to Hong Kong, and all costs related to the Grand Final Fashion Show and exhibition(s).

About the online application system

Applicants must submit their applications via Redress’ competition online application platform here. To begin your application, fill in your details and click ‘Register’. An activation email will be sent to your email address.


If you have not received the email, please check your spam or junk mail folders. You can also try adding apply@redress.com.hk to your address book. If you still don’t see the email, please click ‘Resend verification email’ to request for another activation email.

No, if you have already registered an account for the Redress Design Award 2020 or beyond, you can use the same account to log in.

Please refresh the page, login with another browser, or restart your computer. If the problem remains, create a new account with a different email address or contact apply@redress.com.hk.

A confirmation email will be sent to the email address associated with that registration. Please check your spam or junk mail folders. You can also try adding apply@redress.com.hk to your address book to see if you can find the confirmation email. If you still don’t see the email, please contact apply@redress.com.hk.

We do not accept any applications via Word or PDF formats. Your application must be submitted via the online platform here.

No, you will NOT be able to amend your application including your artwork and textile selections once you have submitted your final application. Any subsequent changes to your application will be rejected and you may be disqualified from the competition, so make sure everything is ready before you click the ‘Submit application’ button! 

About the collection submission

Yes. For this competition we accept gender neutral collections. However, because of the Grand Final Fashion Show production constraints, we ask you to make a decision on whether your collection will be shown on female or male models should you reach the Grand Final. Please check the womenswear or menswear box within the application to select your choice.

No, we accept that finalists can get external help (such as seamstresses, knitting, weaving workers etc) to make their outfits. The finalists still need to submit their own original work and cannot buy products off the shelf from other designers or clothing professionals. Ideally the finalists must be able to demonstrate that they worked alongside and/or managed their external help so they could execute their original designs.

 

Marks will be awarded for the execution of the collection in the final.

In your application, you are required to sketch and create outfits that will fit models in Size A (sample size) and Size B (larger size). Exact measurement details are below.
HeightChestWaistHipShoes
Womenswear model, Size A176–179cm
5.75–5.85ft
80–84cm
31–33in
60–64cm
24–25in
88–92 cm
35–36in
EU 39 or 40
Womenswear model, Size B170–175cm
5.55–5.75ft
100–104cm
39–41 in
84–88cm
33–35in
109–113 cm
43–44in
EU 39 or 40
Menswear model, Size A186–189 cm
6.10–6.20ft
95–99cm
37–39in
80–84cm
31–33in
98–102 cm
38–40in
EU 43 to 45
Menswear model, Size B186–189 cm
6.10–6.20ft
114–118 cm
44–46in
102–106 cm
40–42in
112–118 cm
44–46in
EU 43 to 45
身高胸圍腰圍臀圍鞋碼
女服模特兒, 尺寸 A176–179厘米
5.75–5.85 呎
80–84厘米
31–33 吋
60–64厘米
24–25 吋
88–92 厘米
35–36 吋
歐洲碼 39 或 40
女服模特兒, 尺寸 B170–175厘米
5.55–5.75 呎
100–104厘米
39–41 吋
84–88厘米
33–35 吋
109–113 厘米
43–44 吋
歐洲碼 39 或 40
男服模特兒, 尺寸 A186–189 厘米
6.10–6.20 呎
95–99厘米
37–39 吋
80–84厘米
31–33 吋
98–102 厘米
38–40 吋
歐洲碼 43 或 45
男服模特兒, 尺寸 B186–189 厘米
6.10–6.20 呎
114–118 厘米
44–46 吋
102–106 厘米
40–42 吋
112–118 厘米
44–46 吋
歐洲碼 43 或 45
身高胸围腰围臀围鞋码
女服模特儿, 尺寸 A176–179厘米
5.75–5.85 呎
80–84厘米
31–33 吋
60–64厘米
24–25 吋
88–92 厘米
35–36 吋
欧洲码 39 或 40
女服模特儿, 尺寸 B170–175厘米
5.55–5.75 呎
100–104厘米
39–41 吋
84–88厘米
33–35 吋
109–113 厘米
43–44 吋
欧洲码 39 或 40
男服模特儿, 尺寸 A186–189 厘米
6.10–6.20 呎
95–99厘米
37–39 吋
80–84厘米
31–33 吋
98–102 厘米
38–40 吋
欧洲码 43 或 45
男服模特儿, 尺寸 B186–189 厘米
6.10–6.20 呎
114–118 厘米
44–46 吋
102–106 厘米
40–42 吋
112–118 厘米
44–46 吋
欧洲码 43 或 45
If you are using textile waste or textiles created from waste, you will be required in your application to provide detailed information such as the textile source and composition.
  • Textile swatches — leftover textile samples from production

  • Cut-and-sew textiles — textile scraps generated during garment manufacturing

  • End-of-rolls — factory surplus waste leftover from garment manufacturing

  • Sampling yardage — factory surplus waste leftover from textile sample manufacturing

  • Damaged textiles — unused textiles that have been damaged, for example with colour or print defects

  • Unsold clothing — clothing waste (finished or unfinished) that has not been sold

  • Clothing samples — part-finished or finished clothing samples from the design and production of clothing

  • Secondhand clothing — any clothing or fashion accessories that have been owned and then discarded (both used and unused)

  • Secondhand textiles — any finished non-clothing textiles (such as curtains, bedding, etc) that have been owned and then discarded (both used and unused)

  • A minimum 50 percent of regenerated content in fabric composition. 

  •  ‘Recycled textiles’, for example: recycled wool, made of old wool products; rPET (recycled polyester), most commonly made from recycled plastic bottles; and recycled polyamide (recycled nylon), which can be made from discarded fishing nets. 

  •  ‘Innovative materials’ made of non-traditional waste sources, for example textiles made of pineapple leaves or coffee grounds.

Plastics and synthetic fibres are under great criticism due to the fact that they do not biodegrade, especially when they are made of valuable, non-renewable sources (such as oil/petroleum). Polyester and polyamide in particular are materials made from oil which, when washed, release microplastics into the ecosystem. 

For the competition, whilst we are not against the inclusion of plastics and synthetics in collections, if you do use them, we expect a clear and thorough explanation of why these materials are included. A method to tackle this is to review the plastic materials using the four core circular design strategies:

 

  1. Is the material regenerative?

  2. How is the material transformed and integrated into the collection?

  3. What will happen to it when washed and via other care processes? 

  4. What will happen to it after disposal? 

 

Bio-based plastics are often cited as an alternative to oil-based plastics. However, there is still much research to be done regarding their disposal and the long-term effects of them on our environment, so we recommend that you also apply the above thinking if you are looking to select bio-plastics for use in your collection.

No, we do not allow old (e.g. sourced from secondhand garments) or new fur in submitted collections for ethical reasons related to animal welfare. The use of fur is understandably an emotive issue and whilst there are arguments that reusing or repurposing old fur can prevent these precious resources from being wasted, we do not want to promote fur as aesthetic or aspirational in any way through our competition platform. 

 

The debate relating to the environmental impact of real fur versus synthetic alternatives (where manufacturing processes can involve significant amounts of chemicals and end products do not biodegrade) is a valid one and we encourage you to research and select all materials in a careful and considered way based on their overall environmental impact.

Yes, we allow the use of non-textile waste materials such as metal, leather, tree bark, etc to be included in collections but ONLY as trims and embellishments. Non-textile materials should not exceed approximately 10% of the total garment and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis depending on your supporting argument for use. If you are uncertain about your material and whether we will accept it, please email us at apply@redress.com.hk.

Yes, you can use new trims but a preference will be shown for upcycled or sustainable materials.

About the Grand Final

About judging

More questions

The Redress Design Award 2025 applications are open

The Redress Design Award is the world’s leading sustainable fashion design competition for educating and empowering emerging designers globally.