Unfast Fashion - Blowhammer Contest 2024
1. Overview
ORGANISER
Blowhammer - business unit of BHBLASTED s.r.l. Benefit Company
PROJECT SUBMISSION PERIOD
15 November - 15 December
GOAL
The contest aims to involve fashion designers from all over the world to rethink the way fashion is created and consumed. The challenge is to create a piece of clothing following Blowhammer's Unfast Fashion philosophy: developing innovative and sustainable approaches to garment creation, focusing on reducing environmental and social impact, extending product lifespan, and making fashion more accessible and message-driven.
ELIGIBLE WORKS
Design of a piece of clothing
PARTICIPATING
Designers, fashion designers
REMUNERATION
The author of the first classified work will receive professional compensation for the selected work with the highest score on the ranking list, for the amount of 1,000 euros + VAT.
Possibility of future collaboration with the brand for all participants. In the case that participants show considerable merit - even if they did not win - the company will consider these participants for future collaboration opportunities, which will in any case be subject to further selections or agreements.
The best works, with the names of the author, will be published in a printed zine and displayed on our website and social channels.
2. Contest theme
The Blowhammer collective presents the first edition of the Unfast Fashion contest. As a group of artists and designers dedicated to creating sustainable and innovative clothing, we aim to promote a vision of the future that breaks with the norms of the fast fashion industry.
The fashion industry and its production methods are obsessed with speed: creating as many garments and collections as possible in as little time as possible. To cut costs and production times, companies have outsourced production, often at the expense of worker safety. Garments are produced in a hurry without focusing on product quality and durability, message and impact; the primary goal is profit. What becomes important is the quantity, the mere number, taking precedence over quality, storytelling, and meaning.
For us, Unfast Fashion means choosing a ‘just in time’ production model; printing and sewing each garment only after it is sold online. The production of each piece is done here in Italy, in Nola, and this allows us not only to minimise unsold and overproduction, but above all to control working conditions and to depart from the dominant practices in the industry.
At the heart of the creative process, we encourage artists and designers to consider:
- Is it possible to create a product with a low environmental and social impact?
- How can we extend the life of this product?
- Can this item offer wearers greater freedom of expression or convey a social message?
- How can a garment be made more sustainable while maintaining its affordability?
The creation of a truly sustainable product starts with the first phase of the design project: the idea. Already at this stage, it should be necessary to question ourselves on how to convert the dynamics of fast thinking and deconstruct the practices and methods that have characterised this type of process until now, shifting the focus towards ‘slowness’, ‘quality’ and ‘message’. We believe that a paradigm shift is necessary to break this circuit and to return those working in the field to asking questions about social and environmental issues. Ultimately, we aim to trigger a knowledge innovation that will create an increase in awareness in society.
The objective of this contest is to invite designers from all over the world to question themselves on these issues and to propose solutions and messages capable of reversing a trend, suggesting a new paradigm: that of slow, conscious and accessible fashion. We expect projects that respond to these questions and can be finalised in the creation of a garment, with a description of the production process, techniques and materials used and an insight into the creative and research process that led to the definition of the output.
3. Contest deadline
The contest will start on November 15, 2024 and will end on December 15, 2024. All entries must be submitted by 11:59 PM CET on December 15, 2024.
4. Eligible works and technical specifications
We expect the design of a clothing piece. It is not necessary to create a prototype, even just a design idea is sufficient. All designs submitted must be a previously unreleased design that have never been submitted to similar initiatives nor sold or given to third parties for profit or advertising purposes. However, it is not compulsory that these projects have been produced specifically for participation in this competition. There is no obligation to explain the creative process, but it is necessary that the output reflects the theme of the competition. Digital formats accepted:
- PDF max 20 megabytes for designs;
- JPEG, PNG for images, max 20 megabytes, minimum resolution 300 dpi.
In addition, the submission of a wetransfer video presentation of a maximum of 2 gigabytes is optional and will not influence the final evaluation.
5. Target audience and requirements
The competition is open to all designers, professionals and amateurs. Blowhammer does not discriminate on the basis of disability, neurodiversity, gender identity, biological sex, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, origin, religion, political ideology and/or other personal characteristics of any individual. We invite, with this contest, to see diversity as an added character that promotes creativity and connection between people in the artistic field.
Participation in the contest is open to all individuals who meet the legal requirements for the performance of occasional work in the specific field. Applicants assume full responsibility for all bureaucratic and fiscal fulfilments related to it, relieving the organisers from any liability in case of possible violations of the law.
6. How to participate, submission of works and contacts
PHASE 1: REGISTRATION STARTING NOVEMBER 8, 2024
Participants must complete the registration form available starting November 8, 2024. Upon registration, participants will receive a confirmation email.
The registration form will be available at the following link: www.unfastfashion.com/pages/artists-contest
PHASE 2: WORK SUBMISSION FROM NOVEMBER 15 TO DECEMBER 15, 2024
In a second phase, it will be possible to submit works via the upload section at www.unfastfashion.com/pages/artists-contest-project and will be active from November 15, 2024.
For further information and/or technical problems, please contact info@blowhammer.com.
7. Evaluation Criteria and Jury
The works will be assessed according to the following criteria:
Originality: From 0 to 25 points.
Consistency with the theme: From 0 to 25 points.
Creativity: From 0 to 25 points.
Message and increased awareness of the theme: From 0 to 15 points.
Production sustainability and life cycle: sparing use of resources, environmentally friendly production technologies, fair and safe working methods, transparent and local production processes and supply chains. From 0 to 10 points.
Eco-compatibility of materials: type, recyclability, compostability, possibility of reuse and/or regeneration of the raw material, accessibility of the resource in the country of production (zero km or production with low social and environmental impact), durability and high quality. From 0 to 10 points.
Affordability of the product: From 0 to 15 points.
Positive impact on society: From 0 to 20 points.
Impacts on the environment and people: From 0 to 25 points.
Each work must take into account sustainability, accessibility, transparency and the social and environmental impacts of production and/or realisation; however, it is not necessary to meet all evaluation criteria.
The jury will be composed of the internal team of the Blowhammer collective and the ESG department of the parent company BHBLASTED s.r.l. Benefit Society.
The ranking list will be published by 31/01/2025 on www.unfastfashion.com/pages/artists-contest. The winner will be contacted via the email address he/she used to register and will have one week to send a formal reply and accept the remuneration. At the end of this period, if there is no reply, the next person in the ranking will be contacted, and this process will continue until the remuneration is awarded.
8. Remuneration
The author of the first classified work will receive professional compensation for the selected work with the highest score on the ranking list, for the amount of 1,000 euros + VAT. This compensation shall be sent by bank transfer to an account in the name of the winner.
The brand reserves the right to initiate future professional collaborations, in full compliance with labour regulations and transparency, with the artists who participated in the contest. Such possible collaboration opportunities will however be subject to further selections or agreements.
In addition, a zine with the most significant works will be published and sent free of charge to the top 10 artists. The selected works will then be displayed on our website and social channels.
9. Personal data processing
The personal data of participants will be processed in accordance with the applicable privacy legislation. Pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR), we inform you that the personal data collected as part of participation in this call for entries will be processed by BHBLASTED s.r.l. Benefit Society, with registered office in Via Boscofangone SNC, Zona ASI Lotto C8, 80035 Nola (NA), which can be contacted at the following email address: info@blowhammer.com, as Data Controller, for purposes strictly related to the management of the competition and the execution of related activities.
Personal data will be processed by electronic and manual means, in compliance with the principles of lawfulness, correctness, transparency, minimisation and confidentiality provided for by the GDPR. Appropriate technical and organisational measures will be taken to ensure the security of the processed data.
Personal data may be disclosed to third parties in charge of carrying out activities related and instrumental to the management of the call, such as members of the evaluation committee, technical service providers, legal and administrative consultants, and competent authorities within the limits of legal obligations.
Personal data will be retained for the time strictly necessary to achieve the purposes for which they were collected and, in any case, no longer than 5 years from the closing of the call, unless otherwise required by law.
The provision of personal data is optional, but necessary in order to participate in the call. Failure to provide data will make it impossible to participate in the competition.
10. Copyright
All works submitted under this call for entries remain the exclusive property of the author who holds the copyright and all related rights, in accordance with the law on copyright (Law No. 633 of 22 April 1941, as amended).
Licence of Use
The author grants the organisers of the competition a non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable and transferable licence to use, reproduce, distribute, publish and communicate the submitted work to the public for purposes related to the promotion and communication of the project and/or event. This licence also extends to digital platforms, social media, websites and promotional material.
Duration of the Licence
The utilisation licence granted to the organiser has a duration of 5 years from the closing date of the competition. After this period, the organiser may apply for an extension of the licence upon written notice to the author.
Changes to Works
The organisers undertake not to alter the submitted work in any way without the written approval of the author, unless the changes are strictly necessary for technical requirements (e.g. adaptations for printing or online publication).
Attribution
The work will always be accompanied by the correct attribution of the author, ensuring recognition of his name in all communications and publications of the work.
Exclusion of Liability
The author assumes full responsibility for any dispute regarding the authorship and/or originality of the work, releasing the organisers from any liability in case of infringement of third party rights.
Works of Third Parties
In the event that the work includes elements (texts, images, sounds, etc.) of third parties, the author declares that he/she has obtained all necessary authorisations for the use of such elements, in accordance with copyright law.
11. Acceptance of regulations
Participation in the competition implies full acceptance of these regulations. Any disputes will be resolved by the jury and our organising team.
We invite everyone to participate and share their creativity in envisioning a truly slow fashion future.
Good luck to all!