Creating a more sustainable future for the fashion industry means empowering innovative and emerging designers to build a collective digitized circular fashion system. That’s why lablaco’s Circular Fashion Summit, the world’s first virtual-reality fashion summit, has opened applications for the fourth edition of the Impact Design Hub, bringing together a curated selection of 10 international avant-garde designers. 

The Impact Design Hub is a program open to designers across the world that have their own independent, registered brand that has launched at least one collection. The impact of the Impact Design Hub has spanned far beyond the summit, with former honorees RUI and Lukhanyo Mdingi winning the LVMH Karl Lagerfeld prize in 2021, No Sesso received CFDA x Vogue Fashion Fund 2022 and Tokyo James being nominated as a finalist for LVMH Prize 2022.

The Gateway Towards a World of Web3 for Selected Designers

For this edition, the summit is focusing on ‘Rendering the new reality’, highlighting the designers that are exploring new possibilities and implications through new technologies, opening a brand new conversational experience with next-gen communities: Merging the digital and physical aspects and making Web3 a reality in the fashion industry. The new phygital reality includes applications such as IoT, NFTs, and metaverse.

The 10 selected Impact Design honorees will have the opportunity to exhibit at CFS 2022 with an individual VR showroom space in the form of an interactive NFT in the SPIN metaverse; contribute to the CFS goals by taking part in a 12 months program with a premium subscription to lablaco's SPIN technology to turn their next collection into fully circular Phygital NFTs, as well as the chance of showcasing their collection at CFS' international retail partners, such as K11 in Hong Kong and an exclusive retailer in Paris, yet to be announced.

Drawing attention to avant-garde brands from across the world, with inherent inclusive and sustainable values, Impact Design Hub supports impact designers with technology, a wide range network of industry mentors, and connects them to innovators to pilot next-generation sustainable and circular IoT products. This is part of the overall mission to empower design for good, showcasing collections that respect the four Impact Design principles: materials, process, people, and planet. 

In collaboration with K11 MUSEA, Impact Design Hub honorees will also be launching an industry first phygital (physical and digital) retail experience powered by SPIN, in collaboration with DRESSX. Circular Fashion Summit will be creating a digital twin of a K11 MUSEA space, so that customers can experience fully circular garments via AR and VR try-ons in the SPIN metaverse, allowing attendees the ability to purchase physical garments or a digital copy.

Impact Design Hub honorees believe in a better future, with the showcase day (at Circular Fashion Summit) just day one of year-long action. If this is you or a brand you’re passionate about, apply now or spread the word.

Applications close Monday, 6 June 2021, 18:00 Paris.