This article was originally published on Vanity Fair
The Milan jury has selected Felipe Fiallo, originally from Ecuador and creative talent from the Istituto Marangoni, as the winner of the contest that rewards young designers and their sustainable collections
Felipe Fiallo , originally from Ecuador, is the winner of Circular Design Challenge (CDC), the contest promoted by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), in association with the United Nations in India, which rewards young creative talents who have developed sustainable collections.
Instituto Marangoni is a partner of the European edition of the project which, with the CDC, shares the mission of promoting young talents who use their creativity and ingenuity to produce sustainable fashion.
The Milan jury selected Fiallo and his brand, FELIPE_FIALLO®, a revolutionary high-end phygital footwear brand that combines Made in Italy, biology and digital production to redefine the concept of luxury. The collection is inspired by the collaboration between man and nature with the aim of re-defining the boundaries of the fashion industry through regenerative design and cutting-edge technologies in line with the trends loved by the new generations.
Creative talent from Istituto Marangoni, Fiallo will join Hong Kong Meet finalist, Pei-Wen Jin and India Meet finalists, Riddhi Jain and Dhruv Satija, Jinali Mody and Arundhati Kumar and Anish Malpani together with UK finalist Jury Meet Amesh Wijesekera, to participate in the finals that will take place at the Lakmé Fashion Week in collaboration with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) next October.
Stefania Valenti, CEO of Istituto Marangoni, said, “We are delighted to partner with CDC and Reliance Industries to host this first edition of the European selection chapter of the Circular Design Challenge. As one of the leading institutions in the world of higher education focused on fashion, our mission is to train the new generation of designers by creating a culture of circularity and sustainable fashion and an eco-conscious mentality. Thanks to the past collaboration of one of our most notable Alumni, designer Rahul Mishra, with Reliance Brands who supported him for his strong commitment to sustainability, we are honored to participate in this year’s CDC edition with our emerging Alumni which represent this sustainable approach within the fashion system in a concrete and contemporary way.”