Whitecliffe is represented by both a student and a lecturer as finalists in the Design Innovation Award (Clothing Innovation category) at the 2025 Circular Design Awards, presented by Mindful Fashion New Zealand.
The Design Innovation Award celebrates creativity at the raw edge of fashion where waste is reimagined and form is stitched from the overlooked. Split into Clothing and Accessory categories, the award honours designers who prove that circularity is not a constraint but an opportunity for inventive, functional and enduring design.
A Year 3 student in the Bachelor of Sustainable Fashion Design, Kensa has been recognised for Deconstructed Heritage — a collection that fuses botanical dyes, reclaimed textiles, and zero-waste techniques. Her garments are plant-based, artisanal and deeply connected to place, offering a circular alternative to global fashion’s excess.
Whitecliffe Fashion & Sustainability lecturer Pip Stevenson is also a finalist in the Clothing Innovation category with Ewe Turn. By transforming waste wool swatches, surplus fibre, and salvaged trims into a fully compostable puffer jacket, Pip reimagines everyday outerwear as a regenerative, circular garment. Her recognition highlights the calibre of Whitecliffe’s faculty, who are not only educators but also practicing innovators in the industry.
Whitecliffe’s presence in the 2025 Circular Design Awards demonstrates how students and lecturers alike are reshaping the future of fashion. By bridging creativity with sustainability, they show that circular design is not a limitation but a powerful pathway for meaningful innovation.
The winners of the will be announced at the Circular Design Award Gala on 7 October.
Congratulations to Kensa and Pip on this recognition, and we look forward to seeing their continued impact in sustainable fashion.
