Jessica Chang
“Upcycling means to reuse materials that previously ended up as waste and give it a new life.”
Whether it’s unsold textiles or secondhand clothing, Jessica Chang gives it all a second chance. “Just as fashion trends are recycled, worn clothing can be too, so it doesn’t end up in the trash,” she says. The young designer grew up in Hong Kong and studied fashion design in New York. With her upcycling approach and reuse of textile waste, she is impressing the fashion world. Her collection “The Wall” won the Redress Design Award 2021, one of the world’s biggest competitions for sustainable design. The presented pieces are extra durable thanks to breathable openings, which ensure less sweating and less need to wash the clothes. Although Jessica has demonstrated the potential of discarded textiles, she herself avoids rejecting items wherever possible. “I am currently working on my fashion label PCES, which focuses on zero-waste patterns and recycled textiles to avoid any textile waste,” she says.