Press Release
Poem Sapce Minimal Waste Dress by Bonan Li Is Granted the Bronze A' Design Award in Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design
Bonan Li acknowledged for fashion, apparel and garment design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Bronze A' Design Award in the Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design category for Poem Sapce Minimal Waste Dress by Bonan Li, designed for Bonan Li Studio. The award was conferred within the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Bronze A' Design Award
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
Regarding Poem Sapce Minimal Waste Dress
Poem Sapce is a minimal waste dress that combines an innovative pleating method with zero waste cutting. The dress is made from handwoven fabrics produced by local artisans in several regions, preserving traditional weaving techniques. Localized fabric shrinkage shapes the cloth, forming organic three dimensional folds instead of cutting material away. Each pleat position is fixed by hand and mapped onto cardboard for small batch production. The sculptural folds move with the body and offer both comfort and structure.
About Bonan Li
Bonan Li is an independent fashion designer recognized for exploring identity, culture, and sustainability within the fashion world. With over a decade of experience in high-end and contemporary fashion, she has collaborated with prestigious brands and showcased her work at renowned events such as New York Fashion Week and China Fashion Week. Bonan’s accolades include the Top Ten Fashion Designers Award in China, and her work has been featured in esteemed exhibitions like The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Through her designs, she challenges traditional boundaries, crafting wearable art that encourages thoughtful connection and promotes inclusivity within the fashion industry.
Award Record
With this recognition, Bonan Li is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design Award
The A' Fashion Design Award is an international fashion design competition recognizing good fashion designs by best fashion designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to fashion designers, apparel designers, garment designers and textile designers from all countries. Typical entries include runway collections, dresses, suits, skirts, outerwear and jackets. The awarded fashion designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/fashion
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/169597
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/169597
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!169597
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/354493
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://bonanli.com
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Poem Sapce Minimal Waste Dress
- Function
- Minimal Waste Dress
- Category
- Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design
- Discipline
- Fashion Design
- Industry
- Fashion
- Colors
- White Smoke, Dark Gray, Gray, Light Gray and Silver
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Bonan Li Studio
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Bonan Li
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #169597
Credits
- Image Credits
- Photographer Hao Zeng
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The Shrink Pleat Minimal Waste Dress redefines sustainable fashion by integrating innovative pleating techniques with zero-waste cutting. Crafted from locally handwoven fabrics sourced globally, this design preserves traditional craftsmanship while reducing energy consumption. By harnessing localized fabric shrinkage, it forms organic, three-dimensional silhouettes with minimal material waste.
- Inspiration
- The intersection of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary sustainability inspired the Shrink Pleat Minimal Waste Dress. I sought to challenge conventional garment construction by exploring fabric behavior through pleating and shrinkage techniques. Drawing from research on localized textile manipulation, I developed a method to create dynamic, sculptural forms while minimizing waste. This project reflects my commitment to preserving heritage weaving techniques.
- Research
- This research explores sustainable garment construction through fabric behavior analysis and zero-waste design. The objective was to develop an innovative pleating method that minimizes waste while enhancing three-dimensionality. Using an experimental approach, I tested localized fabric shrinkage and pleat fixation techniques, documenting results through draping, hand-marking, and pattern adjustments. Material tests were conducted to study fabric reactions, with findings informing a scalable, small-batch production model. The research promotes sustainability by reducing textile waste and preserving traditional weaving techniques.
- Challenge
- The most challenging aspect of this project was balancing sustainability with structural innovation. Achieving precise pleat placement through fabric shrinkage required extensive testing, as different textiles reacted unpredictably. Additionally, sourcing ethically handwoven fabrics while maintaining production feasibility posed logistical challenges. Overcoming these obstacles involved iterative experimentation, collaboration with artisans, and refining techniques to ensure both aesthetic integrity and minimal waste.
- Realization and Technology
- The design employs zero-waste cutting and an innovative pleating technique that utilizes localized fabric shrinkage to create organic, three-dimensional forms. Each pleat position is meticulously hand-fixed and mapped onto cardboard for small-batch production, ensuring precision and minimizing waste in the manufacturing process.
- Operation and Interaction
- The Shrink Pleat Minimal Waste Dress transforms through a unique pleating method that shapes the fabric organically using controlled shrinkage. Instead of traditional cutting, the fabric naturally adjusts, creating sculptural folds that move with the body. Each pleat is carefully placed to enhance form and flexibility, offering comfort and structure. This approach reduces fabric waste while achieving a dynamic, flowing silhouette that feels effortless yet meticulously crafted.
- Project Duration and Location
- This project was exhibited in Cave of the Day, Cave of the Night in Brooklyn, New York. It began in New York in 2013 and was completed in mid-2014 in New York.
- Specifications
- Length: 1500 mm x Width: 800 mm x Thickness: 50 mm
- Keywords
- sustainable fashion, zero-waste design, innovative pleating, fabric shrinkage technique, handwoven textiles, three-dimensional garment, traditional craftsmanship, small-batch production, sculptural fashion, eco-conscious design
