Circular future: winners of the Zalando VORN Design Academy

The Zalando VORN Design Academy has announced the winners of its emerging talent award for the fourth time. The ten finalists are currently exhibiting their creations at Berlin Fashion Week.

The Design Academy was developed in 2022 by Zalando's Social Impact Team in partnership with VORN – The Berlin Fashion Hub. It connects emerging designers and young brands with industry experts. “Our goal is to drive positive change in the fashion industry through education, collaboration and innovation. We provide the tools, knowledge and networks necessary to develop more sustainable and forward-thinking solutions,” the description states.

Material innovations in focus

Each year, the programme focuses on a specific field of innovation, as was the case with the fourth edition, NOVA. Material innovations were at the heart of the programme as a driver of transformation towards a sustainable fashion industry. “The designers are experimenting with forward-thinking textiles to develop their visionary designs, which respond to new technologies, ever-increasing sustainability standards and current industry regulations,” according to the background information.

The 100 participants completed an eight-week e-learning programme. The programme focused on sustainable design strategies, branding, business modelling and advanced 3D technologies.

A panel of experts then selected the ten best concepts. These were brought to life in a “Design Sprint” through mentoring and prototyping. The final designs are presented on an international stage as part of Berlin Fashion Week to connect the designers directly with industry leaders and a broad professional audience.

Below, we introduce the ten winners along with their creations and design approaches.

Daniela Milosheska

Daniela Milosheska is the founder of the made-to-order label Bastet Noir. She works with blended fabrics made from agricultural waste such as hemp. For her NOVA project, she chose AltMat's material, which also uses agricultural waste. No harmful chemicals were used, and the manufacturing process consumed a quarter of the water required for cotton. The trench coat, crop jacket and skirt were sewn with dissolvable Climatex thread.

Milosheska believes that clothing should be human-centred, as should craftsmanship.

Iris Dean Blackwood

Iris Dean Blackwood is a material-focused textile and fashion designer from Berlin. She believes that clothing should be “modular, interactive and personalised, as well as more emotionally sustainable”. She describes her work as being at the intersection of textile architecture, material research and circular design. “Clothing should evolve with us rather than eventually disintegrating.”

For the NOVA project, she worked with recycled poly-cotton yarn from Turns, which was sourced from old workwear. Her reversible utility jacket has detachable sleeves and a hood. This not only offers the wearer more versatility but also facilitates repairs and disassembly at the end of the garment's life.

Jennifer Haas

Jennifer Haas is a fashion and textile designer from Berlin and the founder of the label Pinkraininthebrain, which combines modern technologies with traditional craftsmanship. For the NOVA project, she worked with a laser cutter and the vegan, plastic-free material Mirum to develop a zero-waste garment.

Various individual pieces are slotted together. This allows the resulting garment to be adjusted to different sizes and modified as desired. Haas created a kimono, a dress and a handbag.

Jeakyong Sim

Jeakyong Sim is the founder and designer of the Berlin-based label Acceptance Letter. For the NOVA project, the designer opted for mono-materials from sources including Cloudwool, Circulose and Noosa to facilitate future recycling and regeneration. This resulted in a white jacket made from Cloudwool, a loose T-shirt from Circulose material and a Noosa wrap skirt.

“If it looks good and feels good, you will wear it, you will love it and you will keep it,” says the designer about long-lasting garments.

Lisa Vander Plaetse

Lisa Vander Plaetse works under the designer name Matuta and uses 3D design to create shoes and accessories. For the NOVA project, she chose a combination of 3D printing and knitting, as these techniques are suitable for local and on-demand production.

Biodegradable and recyclable materials are important to the Barcelona-based designer. She opted for a yarn from AltMat made from waste materials. The 3D-printed elements are made from recycled TPU from the shoe industry.

Naomi Nakajima

Naomi Nakajima is the founder of N-Naka Lab, based in New York and Berlin. The label focuses on experimenting with next-gen materials that surpass conventional ones in terms of comfort, quality and environmental impact. Her vision for the future of fashion is one that uses non-toxic, bio-based materials and is completely circular.

For the NOVA project, Nakajima chose Mirum. She used the 3D modelling software Clo to develop a pattern, which she then applied to the material using a laser. The material was also laser-cut to minimise waste. The pieces of the motorcycle jacket were sewn together with Stitchlock from Climatex.

Natalie Shirin Nazemi

Natalie Shirin Nazemi is a costume and textile designer from Hanover. She is the founder of the label Shirin’s Bliss. For her, it is important to build a relationship with what you wear.

For the NOVA project, she used Cloudwool, derived from wool waste, for a long coat. She felted its surface with raw wool from Pomerania. A sheep portrait dyed with avocado adorns the back.

Tobias Beigi

Tobias Beigi has been a designer at Hessnatur for six years, where he is responsible for the entire menswear line. He aims to make hidden waste streams visible, including those in cultivation, cutting and production.

The two garments created for the NOVA project – a denim jacket and denim trousers – are made from denim that incorporates pineapple leaves. All metal parts can be easily removed and recycled. The pattern on the jacket and trousers was created from fabric scraps generated during production.

Viktor Stojkoski

Viktor Stojkoski is a designer from Copenhagen. His design consists of several modules or parts that can be assembled in any way, as he wants to inspire wearers to create their own clothing.

Willem van Helvoirt

Willem van Helvoirt is the founder of the label Achilles and the Tortoise, which aims to make sustainability enjoyable. For his NOVA design, the Amsterdam-based designer tried to incorporate as many materials as possible to experiment with them. He used Cloudwool for a fitted jacket, Circ for a skirt and AltMat for a pair of trousers.