Tommy Hilfiger names Frontier Challenge finalists
PVH-owned brand Tommy Hilfiger has selected five finalists from among the 259 start-ups and scale-ups who applied to its annual Fashion Frontier Challenge, now in its fourth edition.
The theme, “waste nothing and welcome all”, touched upon both social and environmental sustainability and the final entrepreneurs were shortlisted following a year-long, multi-step review process, during which both internal and external experts assessed their business models against criteria such as potential social impact and market growth, the label said.
All five finalists visited Tommy Hilfiger’s global headquarters in Amsterdam last month to present on the biggest challenge they face in trying to grow their business and subsequently consulted with specialists to find practical solutions over the course of a week.
The final phase of the project will involve pitching to a judging panel on February 9.
This group is expected to comprise company founder and principal designer Mr Hilfiger, accompanied by chief executive of both the global Tommy Hilfiger brand and PVH Europe, Martijn Hagman, former model and activist Halima Aden, entrepreneur and adjunct professor at INSEAD business school Adrian Johnson, and managing director at Amsterdam-based sustainable innovation platform Fashion for Good, Katrin Ley, among others.
“We know that there is still more work to be done to achieve diverse representation and inclusion in fashion,” commented Mr Hilfiger. “We’re committed to using our platform to give emerging talent a voice, so the industry as a whole can evolve how we think, build and create.”
This year’s finalists are Care and Wear, a provider of adaptive and accessible "healthwear" for hospital patients and workers; Bangladeshi mental health and well-being service Moner Bondhu, whose target audience is mainly garment factory workers, women and young people; smart clothing company Tactus, which uses technology to turn music into palpable vibrations for those who are D/deaf; developer of clothing-like soft upper limb prosthetics Koalaa; and female-focused performance shoe and football cleat business Ida Sports.
Past winners include Auf Augenhoe, a brand making clothes for people affected by dwarfism, plus digital platform DoctHers, which connects female doctors in Pakistan to underserved communities such as factory workers.
Image credit: Business Wire.
