Romanian Ioana Ciolacu received the BigSEE Fashion Design Award 2020- Grand Prix in the Step forward category for the project of an haute couture outfit made entirely of recycled scraps.

The outfit's production took two months, from the cutting of the pieces to the assembly, done manually, and using only selected scraps from the designer's previous collections. The dress combines a "knot-like technique on a laser-cut base" to deliver "a unique shape, meant to emphasize the creativity and prove the endless possibilities of sustainable thinking."

Ioana Ciolacu is a contemporary womenswear fashion label created by the Romanian designer of the same name.

Ciolacu has an MA in Fashion Design and Technology from the London College of Fashion at the University of the Arts London. In 2013, she won the fashion design competition Designers for Tomorrow, after her collection impressed members of a jury led by Stella McCartney.

The full list of BigSEE awards is available here.

(Photo by Ioana Ciolacu, courtesy of Zavod Big)

simona@romania-insider.com