Bio

Since participating in the Redress Design Award 2014/15, Noëlla Tapasu Koy has resumed her position as a fashion designer for a brand in France while she continues to develop her sustainable brand, Norst, which focuses on up-cycling end-of-roll textiles sourced from Africa. She has an Environment & Fashion Design degree from École de Condé in Nancy, France.

I'm African and raised with two cultures, and so it’s important for me to give back to my country what it gave to me. I want to do my best to help sustainable development including sustainable fashion. Why? Because sustainable fashion creates jobs, conserves natural resources and thereby creates a closer relationship between politicians and citizens. An old French proverb says 'Everything is good in the pig,' which means when you kill a pig everything can be used and there is no waste. It's the same for fashion. There is no waste, just fabrics awaiting a second wind to become an exceptional piece. Modern fashion needs this type of sustainable idea. - Noëlla Tapasu Koy

redress Design Award collection

Noëlla draws on the mythological Chinese icon Nuwa, a half-woman and half-snake Goddess, for inspiration for her Redress Design Award (formerly the EcoChic Design Award) 2014/15 collection. Noëlla used the sustainable design techniques of up-cycling and reconstruction onto her textile waste source, comprising leftover African textiles and end-of-roll textiles sourced from French markets and secondhand clothing. The result is a collection that includes asymmetric and sleeveless designs, which are unified by a wide colour palette.

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