Sustainable Fashion Design Award “Wear Your Origins”
The Greek award will select 15 designers and students from all over the world to design with and for 15 women who suffered domestic violence. The winners will join a 4-month program and will have their collection produced and exhibited in Athens
The brand
Wear Your Origins is a sustainable brand with a strong environmental, social, and cultural impact. Our garments narrate the story of women, of any woman, born in any place, in any period of time. Wear Your Origins is an ode to female power advocating for the elimination of violence against women.
We are one of the few brands that are luxury and sustainable in a holistic way. In a sense, we leverage sustainable fashion by creating premium clothing. All garments have been designed from the start with the aim to close the loop and to support the regeneration of the environment.
Every garment bears a digital passport with all the information of its supply chain and processing from farming to rack. This allows us to control the protection of human rights of workers and of the environment and climate. For more on WYO Τransparency and Ethical Sourcing Policy read here.
Sustainability
We have eliminated plastic and created clothes that could be compostable or recyclable, if they reach their end life. We use a blend of recycled textiles from pre-consumer waste with innovative raw materials, such as recycled, natural, vegan and plant-based textiles. We collect back clothes from our customers to either resell as used, or up-cycle as new textiles for our new collections. We are offering selected garments for rental aiming for full circular usage in the near future. We opt to eliminate waste, every garment is designed using zero waste practices and circular fashion principles. We control our CO2 emissions by opting for a local supply chain from farming to tailoring. Each collection bears the aim to leave the lightest possible environmental footprint. We tackle the environmental crisis and exploitation of resources.
Empowerment
Our social value and objective is to empower and support the work integration of women victims of violence and at risk of exploitation. Wear Your Origins emphasizes the value and power of female nature. Wear Your Origins vision is embodied in our women who through their strength reflect the beauty of life.
Our garments are crafted with creativity and soul in SOFFA studio downtown Athens by our women empowerment program in sewing and tailoring and populations living in risk of exploitation. For more on SOFFA-Social Fashion Factory workforce please see here.
Storytelling
Every garment of Wear Your Origins narrates a different story, the story of the woman who designed it. The women awardees of the WYO Award create their own Capsule Collections deriving inspiration from their own cultural heritage and life experience. The Hidden Figures Behind Our Clothes are in the spotlight of WYO.
The award
30 designers from all over the world have the opportunity to design and launch from scratch their own Capsule Collection by using only sustainable, recycled fabrics and innovative circular fashion techniques.
The winners have the opportunity to attend a 4 month free educational program with fashion workshops. Moreover, they are mentored by renowned personalities and fashion industry experts, and they are supported with valuable knowledge on how to create their own eco sustainable, signature Capsule Collection.
The chosen pieces of the signature Capsule Collection are crafted creatively at SOFFA Tailoring Studio and are presented in international catwalks, open studio events and international platforms, and are distributed through SOFFA retail network.
Concept
Hidden Figures Behind Our Clothes
The “Wear Your Origins” (WYO) Award aims at the empowerment and employment integration of women victims of violence and at risk of exploitation. 30 women, 15 new designers and 15 women survivor victims and at risk of human trafficking, come together to create their first Capsule Collection through sustainable and ecological methods.
For every winner, one (1) woman survivor victim and at risk of exploitation, is offered the same opportunity to become a designer. Every awardee is paired with a survivor woman to support her learning path.
Inspiration
Τhe women awardees of the WYO Award create their own Capsule Collections deriving inspiration from their own cultural heritage and life experience. The Hidden Figures Behind Our Clothes are in the spotlight of WYO.The capsule collections created during the WYO award are inspired by the elements of Greek culture and tradition through the Grecian Collection, with the cultural elements of the participants’ place of origin. The Grecian Collection merges the key shapes of the ancient greek attire with the elements from Hellenic culture and the traditional costumes from the Greek Evolution of 1821.
A cultural meeting centered on clothing.
A visual journey of the culture, tradition and histories of these women.
An opportunity to express the thoughts and the soul through clothes.
Mentors and jury members
- Orsola de Castro
- Paloma Garcia Lopez
- Fredrik Timour
- Christine Gent
- Tamsin Lejeune
- Kim Gustaffson
- Alexis Georgoulis
- Prof. Catherine Andreozzi
- E.Prof. Ioanna Sapfo Pepelasi
- Despoina Geroulanou
- Prof. George Ioannou
- Prof. Jose Manuel Agames
- Dr. Catherine Polymenou Kamilaki
- Prof. Eleuftheria Stoikou
- Lecturer Venetia Koutsou
- Sharam Yalda
- Tony Vergara
- Christos Petridis
- Venedikos Antypas
- Jesse Marsh
- Suzanne Barta
- Karampinis Meletis
- Mihalis Pantos
- Kostas Bakoyannis
- Prof Dimitris Kairidis
- Angela Gerekou
- Dr. Hercules Moskov
- Julie Lymberopoulos
- Sophie Lambrou
- Luciana Dos Santos Duarte
- Iliada Kothra
- Lucia Lea Kirchner
- Leda Karambela
- Angeliki Kosmopoulou
- Elis Kiss
General comments
- The deadline was extended until the end of December (but it’s not on the website, they need to update it);
- Although the award is focused on women, there is no gender restriction, everyone can join;
- If selected, you will join 1-2 workshops per week during 4 months in 2023, all online (I should teach one class);
- There is no money prize, but your collection will be manufactured in Athens, be on the catwalk, on the spotlight, on media, etc. There are many other perks, like networking, life experience, etc. In my opinion, the most important perk is to be humble to work together with women who suffered, and help to empower them with design.
- So far, there is no need to go to Athens, but if there is an opportunity, that would be at the end of this 4 month training for the 15 designers selected, and you will be informed beforehand.
