Zalando Sustainability Award F/W 2023

The decentralisation of attention towards the big catwalks is an increasingly recurrent phenomenon. The eyes of the audience are no longer focused solely on Paris or Milan, but catwalks in other parts of the world are making waves and for excellent reasons. This is the case with Copenhagen Fashion Week, a proposal that not only attracts thanks to the inherent Scandinavian style that can only be found here in its purest essence but also for the importance given to factors that are increasingly essential in the industry, such as sustainability. Knowing that each and every one of the brands present has had to meet a series of requirements to guarantee the existence of sustainable practises behind their proposal generates a peace of mind that allows us to appreciate the designers' creations without any kind of reservation.

Zalando is one of the greatest allies of this fashion week, and thanks to the support of the fashion and lifestyle platform, a space has been opened in which this search for ethical and aesthetic balance is recognised and rewarded. The Zalando Sustainability Award seeks to support emerging brands with innovative, unique, and sustainable proposals, awarding not only a prize of 20,000 euros but also the opportunity to develop an exclusive collection for the platform, which, due to Zalando's global character, represents a launch into a new market and a significant boost for the winner.

In its Fall/Winter 2023 edition, three brands were nominated, and presented their proposals in an exclusive space for Zalando, where the winner was also announced. Stamm, Selam Fessahaye, and TG Botanical were the candidates, and after a tight deliberation process in which the jury took into account not only the aesthetic proposal but the ability of the brand to incorporate sustainable elements without falling into the obviousness of what can be ecological, Elisabet Stamm with her eponymous brand won. We review the winning collection and its opponents.

The big winner of this edition, founded in 2022 by Elisabet Stamm, has managed in a short time to find her essence with pieces inspired by streetwear with special details that make them stand out from the crowd. In this collection, much of the attention went to the outerwear, in which the wide silhouettes of puffer jackets served as a canvas to explore different techniques and aesthetics. We witnessed interesting plays on colour such as the combination of black, white, and orange, a palette that functions as the common thread present in the vast majority of looks, as well as other combinations such as different ranges of blues and shades of beige and cream. Several of the jackets on the catwalk, especially those with shiny appliqués or small embroidery with the brand's name, were recurring garments on the front row, demonstrating the commercial and functional output of the proposal.

The recycled leather garments with patchwork manipulations were another highlight of the collection, which showed an attention to detail that was praised by Lena Sophie Röper, Director of Design and Luxury at Zalando. “The craftsmanship and embroidery on the leather goods, as well as the complexity of the jackets' construction, were the highlights.” The fabrics present throughout the collection show the possibility of finding variety within sustainability: natural and organic hand-spun cotton, recycled lightweight man-made fabrics, and recycled leather combined in a natural and organic way. The name of the collection is Inner G, which inspires the wearer to feel like a goat. With the sharp silhouettes, the contrasting textures, and the innovative approach, it makes sense.

Stylist turned designer Selam Fessahaye, is one of the names to be reckoned with in the European fashion industry. It only takes one look at Beyonce dressed in her creations to know that we are in the presence of a fashion promise. In her Fall/Winter 2023 collection, she celebrates her experience by exploring the complexity of the concepts. She proposes a discourse in which being in between is not wrong. In an industry where simplicity is recurrently requested to be easier to understand and reach the audience more easily, Fessahaye proposes the opposite: the presence of complex elements does not mean being more difficult to understand; it means being able to express better and in more detail the universe of the creator.

The thirty-two looks that make up the collection are made up of numerous elements and aesthetics that, taken together, represent the brand's language. Men's and women's garments alternate and are equally striking. The large number of colours, the extravagant silhouettes, and the cutouts are three of the most recurrent elements in the collection. In addition to flowing pieces like dresses and jumpsuits, oversized coats, and a light shirt and trouser ensembles, various tailoring pieces create contrast, some with slits down the garments, others with XXL shoulders, and others defying proportions. A collection in which complexity is made manifest in the best way possible.

Bringing the more organic and natural side to the Danish catwalks, the brand founded by Tetyana Chumak demonstrates how often the answer lies in nature. Always characterised by an aesthetic in which earth tones and pastels predominate and materials that convey the dedication with which they are made, this season's proposal navigates the idea of energies generated on the ground, both metaphorically and literally. The materials from which the garments are made are born in Ukrainian soil, and ancient organic dyeing techniques give the garments their characteristic palette. With an interesting technique in which the elastic threads generate irregular shapes in the fabrics, silhouettes are created that embrace the body in a comfortable and soft way and become a second skin for the wearer. Knitted garments with ribbing are reintegrated with a double layer, of which the upper one has large holes that reveal the interior. The silhouette of the corset was also very present in different versions, from denim to furry ones, serving as a contrast between the fluid and the structural.