Rhiannon Hunt, a graduate of the Chelsea College of Art and Design, has won the Waste & Resources Action Programme’s (WRAP) inaugural Extending the Life of Clothes Design Award, part of the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP).

The £5,000 award, launched in October, challenged designers to address the key reasons for garment failure and to find ways to ensure longer life times, while producing fashionable and saleable ideas.

The winning design, chosen from a shortlist of four finalists, featured adjustable and detachable features. While the core elements of each piece of clothing were sewn together using traditional methods, additional sections (pleats, panels, waistbands and hemlines) were joined with detachable fastenings. These features enable the wearer to adjust the size, fit, style and length of the garment, thus increasing the item’s useable lifetime.

The judging panel of industry professionals and academics reportedly chose Hunt’s design for its ability to increase the desirability of the item to the consumer as well as for its functionality.

Hunt will now have the opportunity to develop her idea in a commercial market.

‘Changing perceptions of sustainable fashion’

Speaking of her win, Hunt said: “I’m absolutely delighted to win this award. I’m so passionate about sustainable design. We have to start changing people’s perceptions of sustainable fashion if we’re to see it become the norm. “

Commenting on Hunt’s winning entry, Greg Tufnell, Chairman of the fashion consultancy HGA Group and award judge, said: “Rhiannon’s concept and presentation stood out for several reasons.

“In particular the very considered, detailed and knowledgeable approach combined with her clear passion and commitment to the cause set her apart from the other entries.”

Marcus Gover, Director at WRAP and judge, added: “All finalists delivered fantastic ideas. However, it was clear to see that Rhiannon’s concept not only met the brief but was backed by genuine interest in sustainability.

“She demonstrated a real understanding of the issues. Having forward thinking, innovating designers like Rhiannon – and our finalists – in the fashion industry, puts us in a really good place to extend the life of clothes.”

Another finalist, Valerie Goode, was awarded a special commendation prize for her commitment to the sustainable fashion cause after she brought her idea of made-to-measure tailoring to the market herself under her Kitty Ferreira fashion label.

Tufnell added: “I greatly admired that Valerie had taken her concept and started and funded her own business in order to take the concept forward. Valerie demonstrated a good grasp of what the business was trying to achieve and her designs really stood out.”

Tackling the environmental impact of clothing

The SCAP programme was launched by WRAP after it found that extending a product’s active life by just nine months could reduce the carbon, water and waste footprints by 20-30 per cent each, and save around £5 billion worth of the resources used to supply, launder and dispose of clothing.

WRAP, revealed in its 2012 report – ‘Valuing Our Clothes – The true cost of how we design, use and dispose of clothes in the UK’ – that of the million tonnes of clothes supplied on the UK market each year, a third ‘end up in landfill when they’re finished with’ and that ‘around £30 billion worth of clothes are unused in people’s wardrobes’.

Find out more about the SCAP Extending the Life of Clothes Design Award.