H&M has revealed the winners of its annual Global Change Award, with an Australian team of designers granted €150,000.
The annual innovation challenge saw a total €1 million grant pool awarded to five winners, following a global online vote.
The Australian team, lead by Xungai Wang, pioneered a new denim-dyed denim innovation.
The non-profit H&M Foundation initiated Global Change Award in 2015, calling for game-changing ideas to help reinvent the entire industry.
The online vote was held from 27 March to 2 April, with the winners including:
· €300,000: Innovation: Grape Leather, Team lead: Rossella Longobardo, Italy
· €250,000: Innovation: Solar Textiles, Team lead: Miguel A. Modestino, US/Switzerland
· €150,000: Innovation: Content Thread, Team lead: Natasha Franck, US/UK
· €150,000: Innovation: Denim-dyed Denim, Team lead: Xungai Wang, Australia
· €150,000: Innovation: Manure Couture, Team lead: Jalila Essaidi, The Netherlands
H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson congratulated all five winning teams.
"They have the potential to help reinvent the fashion industry, enabling products and resources to have more than one life.
"Winning the Global Change Award gives you a boost through funding, coaching, industry access and validation that you probably can’t find elsewhere.
"If you want to help reinvent one of the largest industries in the world, this is the place to go."
The award ceremony, staged on April 5, marked the beginning of a one year innovation accelerator.
This will provided by the H&M Foundation in collaboration with Accenture and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
The program will help the winners develop their ideas, focusing on three main areas; circular economy, innovation and fashion industry connection.
Accenture executive Jill Standish said the move is in line with global trends.
“Consumer expectations for more sustainable products are placing an emphasis on the industry to fundamentally re-examine and re-design the entire fashion value chain.
"The Global Change Award is the first of its kind challenge for early stage innovation in fashion and we are impressed by the level of bold creativity and disruptive innovation shown by the five award winners.
"We are passionate about helping them further develop their inspiring ideas through the Accelerator program, to support them in driving the change towards a circular fashion industry."