Asian designers recognized for sustainability ethics

Fashion blogger Susie Bubble displays a creation by the YES award-winning designers.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Chinese designers could do well in this regard by combining their "very different aesthetics, nurtured by thousands of years of culture" with forward-thinking modernism.

Su, a 28-year-old native of East China's Fujian province, received her master's degree in fashion design and technology for women swear from London College of Fashion, before setting up her own brand. Every year, she spends six months in China, looking for natural fabrics and "disappearing craftsmanship".

She discovered the technique of dyeing fabrics with yam juice near her hometown. The process is believed to date back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD317-420).

The designer's interest in looking at nature and Chinese craftsmanship came from her childhood.

"It's easy to just put a label on a product, calling it eco-friendly. What's challenging is to sustain sustainable fashion," says Su.