Sustainable fashion is one of the most challenging concepts in fashion industry, it is also a solution for ecological sustainability and economic sustainability. ESMOD Jakarta, Bell Living Lab (Bell Society), and Ideanation collaborated to create the Innovative Urbanware Competition 2023 to find new individuals who have the potential to make innovative products that have a positive impact on the environment and the fashion industry, especially in Indonesia.

  The competition was open for non-professional public with under 2 years of experience in the fashion industry, which some of them are ESMOD Jakarta’s students who are still studying in the first year and the second year. There were two categories in this competition, they are the ready-to-wear category and the accessories category. The competition was consisted of 50 participants, which 5 of them in each categories for semi-finalist and were individuals or groups. On he next judging process, all semi-finalists were given the opportunity to present their work directly in front of the judges.

  Guillaume Oger, Fashion Design and Creation Coordinator ESMOD Jakarta said “This competition gave an opportunity to our students to combine eco-friendly concept, with innovative fabrics and creative design. This project shows that fashion can follow strict requirements in terms of ecology but still can be attractive and wearable. We have developed durable designs (garment and accessories), both from concept and style point of view. This suits perfectly with ESMOD philosophy which combine sustainability, innovation, and trendiness in all curriculum.”

  All finalists went through private judging process based on their ideas, moodboard designs, and materials selection. After that, the selected semi-finalists were contacted to proceed to the next session and had been given vegan leather material provided by the Bell Living Lab to combine it with other sustainable materials.

  Arka Irfani, Founder/CEO Bell Living Lab said “we are committed to accelerating the adoption of sustainable materials. To achieve this, we actively collaborate with local and international brands, fashion schools, designers, and several government institutions to expedite research and adoption of biomaterials. We also strive for continuous innovation to create a wider range of sustainable materials as a research-based company.”

  Achmad Kadhafi Sapi’ie, Head of Program Ideanation also said “Ideanation believes that one of the most effective ways to address sustainability issues is through innovation. The purpose of this event for Ideanation is to promote that innovation in the form of vegan leather can be implemented into ready-to-wear products. We hope that this eco-friendly material will become a new breakthrough in the fashion world, and also become a catalyst for other new innovations to continue to emerge.”

  The Grand Finale as well as the final jury session was on the 29^th of July 2023, held at Omah Jati Premium Resort which located in the middle of the teak forest with a total area of 3 hectares, surrounded by 2000 teak trees that are more than 15 years old. The resort was designed by well known Indonesian architect, Andra Matin. On this event, ESMOD Jakarta ran the fashion show of their students’ collection which also showcasing the work of the 5 best finalist of the competition.