BINUS International Fashion Design Student Team Wins 1st Place in the Upcycling Design Challenge Award

The Fashion Design program from BINUS International has participated in the University Upcycling Design Challenge Award, which took place online from September 2022 to March 2023. One of the student teams representing BINUS International, consisting of Stephanie Widjaja and Yoshella Febe Silalahi, successfully won first place in the competition. They created sportswear made from leftover fabric with bright colors.

About the Upcycling Design Challenge Award

Organized in collaboration with PT Hollit International, BINUS INTERNATIONAL, Bandung Institute of Technology, Esmod, and Maranatha University, the Upcycling Design Challenge Award event featured online seminars and workshops on the environmental impact of the fashion industry and how to address it.

“We started this award event about three years ago to raise awareness about textile waste. Our current design methods generate a lot of waste in the cutting and design process,” said Farina Shabun, Head of Sustainability at PT Hollit International, when asked about the purpose of organizing the Upcycling Design Challenge Award.

In addition to webinars and workshops, another highly anticipated event of the Upcycling Design Challenge Award is the fashion design competition using recycled materials. All participating teams, including fashion design students, receive leftover fabric and deadstock (PVD). They can only use the provided materials to create garments with the ‘Sustainability: Change by Design’ theme.

The three winning teams will receive a total prize of IDR 10 million. They can showcase their works at a fashion exhibition and auction held at Dialogue, South Jakarta, on March 18, 2023. The proceeds from the auction will be donated to fundraising efforts for environmental conservation.

“We are very impressed with the creative, beautiful, and smart designs from BINUS University students. After graduating, we hope they can apply this knowledge to promote eco-friendly design processes and reduce environmental pollution,” said Shabun.

Presenting Active Wear from Leftover Fabric

At the beginning of the competition, ten teams represented BINUS International Fashion Design in the Upcycling Design Challenge Award. After further selection, only five teams were chosen to compete in the final round of the fashion competition. One of the representative teams from BINUS, Stephanie Widjaja and Yoshella Febe Silalahi, successfully brought honor to their campus by winning first place.

“We really didn’t expect it, and we’re so happy to be able to compete. Moreover, this competition was outside of our university. It’s a rare opportunity for us to gain experience,” Stephanie and Yoshella expressed their achievement.

They both presented the brand Zip Zap, which emphasizes sustainability and comfort. The main concept is to highlight flexibility in movement by combining deadstock materials with a sporty style. Bright colors also create a positive, energetic impression that embraces active youth.

“In terms of motivation, we’ve seen the experiences of some of our seniors. We think it’s very cool, so we also want to explore it. This is also not bad for opening a career path. The campus directed us to develop our creativity by processing limited materials,” explained Stephanie and Yoshella about what prompted them to submit their work to the Upcycling Design Challenge Award.

Through Zip Zap, Stephanie and Yoshella showed various sportswear sets with the following details: a lightweight and weather-resistant hoodie jacket, multi-functional pants with lots of storage space, and a long-sleeve shirt that protects the wearer’s skin from sun exposure.

“Because we got materials and had to adapt to existing trends, we were inspired by camping wear. We combine sports with camping, which has many functions. That’s why we make clothes that can be worn every day in the color of the tent. So, they are more inclined towards activewear,” said Stephanie and Yoshella when asked about their design inspiration.

Winning Contribution to BINUS International Fashion Design’s Vision and Mission

The achievement of the Stephanie and Yoshella team in the Upcycling Design Challenge Award competition has strengthened the quality of the global experience and education offered by the BINUS International double degree program. One of the main advantages of BINUS International Fashion Design is the opportunity for students to get a bachelor’s degree from Indonesia and a partner university abroad.

“The involvement of BINUS International in this project is very influential and is a successful benchmark for us to realize the vision and mission of the Fashion Design program,” commented Mrs. Ratna Dewi Paramita, MA, as Head of the Fashion Program.

She also explained the connection between participation in this competition and current issues in the field of fashion, “Because sustainable fashion and empowering society are very important issues. And our goal is to equip students after graduation so that they can become responsible designers who are more aware of the situation and conditions in the fashion world in the future.”

Not only direct exposure to dynamic global fashion trends, but BINUS International students will also have the opportunity to put their theoretical knowledge into practice. One manifestation of this program is how BINUS International can support student teams participating in the Upcycling Design Challenge Award.

“Since the last semester, we have included this project in the Sustainable Fashion course. We see student progress week by week, and after the final, there are still revisions. The Marcomm team and the staff also helped a lot for the photoshoot. Because we won first place this year, for sure all [relevant parties] are very happy. Moreover, we are up against three other universities,” said Mrs. Ratna at the end of the interview.

From the five teams that made it to the final round and competed with three other universities, Stephanie Widjaja and Yoshella Febe Silalahi from BINUS International Fashion Design won first place in the Upcycling Design Challenge Award. Their design concept is Zip Zap, a sportswear brand made from leftover fabrics that give young people a fresh, positive, energetic, and flexible impression.

This achievement is a major contribution to realizing the double-degree vision and mission of BINUS International Fashion Design and BINUS’s position as the best private tertiary institution with global experience.