As the final submission deadline for The EcoChic Design Award 2015/2016 approaches, we continue our coverage of the competition (perhaps a little later than intentioned); here, we interview former Mainland China participant Xiating Qi (otherwise known as Aya) about her work in sustainable fashion.
Where are you from, and where and what did you study?
I am from Beijing, where I recently graduated with a Fashion Design and Creation degree from ESMOD Beijing after making a career change from advertising.
How did you develop an interest in sustainable fashion?
I have always loved reconstructing unwanted clothes, and this was the reason that I entered fashion school. But since discovering fashion’s negative impact on the environment, I’ve developed a much greater desire to learn and practice sustainable fashion. My dream is to become a sustainable fashion designer.
I really enjoy using the simplest methods to transform unwanted garments into trendy and interesting fashion pieces. For me, the most important thing is to deconstruct and then reconstruct every part of each garment using skilful design techniques.
Why did you decide to take part in the EcoChic Design Award?
Taking part in The EcoChic Design Award gave me a chance to explore and learn more about sustainable fashion in a professional way. Here, I systematically learned about techniques, such as upcycling and reconstruction, for instance — essential aspects that I had never received formal training in before. The competition also allowed me to exchange ideas on sustainable fashion with fashion designers from all over the world — what excites them about sustainable fashion, how they may apply these design techniques to their own work, or even how to promote the use of these techniques more generally.
Are you currently working on any other projects or collections?
Before and right after The EcoChic Design Award 2014/15, my friends and I were working hard to establish our own studio for sustainable fashion. However, another opportunity came up, and I am currently working in a company to promote cultural events. This doesn’t mean that I am walking away from sustainable fashion. In fact, it is exactly the opposite. I am hoping to integrate sustainable fashion into some of the cultural projects I am working on now, promoting the concept to more and more people.
How exactly do you market these ideas?
In short, I aim to design sustainable clothing for friends with great social influence. They can also give us clothing they don’t want anymore. Once the new fashion pieces for these people are done, they will become the best form of advertising when they wear the garments, especially when social media and self-marketing has become such a well-developed mechanism. People with great social influence are as powerful as any magazine or existing media. We will definitely make good use of such an approach.
Where do you hope to take your work in the future?
I really want to incorporate sustainable concepts and techniques into my designs and try to do the best I can to develop my brand with my partners. Apart from the environmental value, textile waste in particular also opens up opportunities for us designers to be able to work with corporates: there is so much unwanted clothing in their warehouses, for example, or unused textile materials, which are all of great value to designers! The amount of textiles and material we sustainable fashion designers buy is usually very little; therefore, usually the cost will be very high. Collaborations such as this will lower the cost for each design, increasing its profitability. This will also provide us with more fabric choices, giving us more room for creativity. I hope to stick with these two techniques in the future.
Find out how to apply to the 2015/2016 cycle of The EcoChic Design Award via their website.
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