Petit Pli has become the first UK-based brand to win the H&M Foundation Global Change Award. The childrenswear label, supported by LCF's Centre for Fashion Enterprise (CFE), has been recognised for its innovative approach towards sustainable fashion, using aero-space engineering to create expandable garments for kids aged between 9 months and 4 years. According to Petit Pli's founder, Ryan Mario Yasin, receiving accelerator support from the H&M Foundation will allow the brand to further its goal to tackle sustainability and push circularity in the fashion industry: "By addressing the needs within the childrenswear market, Petit Pli is able to turn the challenge of fast growing children into an opportunity," says Mario.
For the Global Change Award, known in the industry as the Nobel Prize of Fashion, Petit Pli had to compete with more than 6,000 brands from 182 countries. With thousands of brands from around the world generating ideas on how to push a more sustainable approach towards garment design and making, Ryan believes what makes Petit Pli stand out is its human-focus:
Our design process differs from most sustainable fash-tech companies — we use human centred design methodologies to understand human behaviours and generate impactful solutions. What also differentiates us is the people working in our team: we are fashion designers, engineers, product designers, sociologists and neuroscientists!
Petit Pli has grown immensely since launching in 2017, going from concept to award-winning startup in less than 2 years. After partnering with CFE's Fash-Tech Pioneer Programme, the childrenswear brand has won 11 awards, including Fast Company’s 100 World Changing Ideas, 2019 Red Dot Product Design Award, 2017 UK James Dyson Award and 2018 Dezeen Award for Best Wearable Design. So what's the key element behind the brand's success? For Ryan, it's all down to Petit Pli's mission to create sustainable garments that will inspire the next generation and its perception towards the value of clothing:
We create wearable design solutions that satisfy human needs, fulfil market demands and can be produced within Earth’s boundaries. Petit Pli is not only designing for humans, but for humanity, taking into consideration the resource use of our rapidly expanding global population.
- Find out more about Centre for Fashion Enterprise
- Follow Petit Pli on Instagram
- More LCF Stories