RANRA wins Zalando Sustainability Award during Copenhagen Fashion Week

• RANRA’s genderless collection focused on longevity and used exciting techniques with textiles and dyes to create a colorful show
• RANRA and Zalando to create an exclusive collection to innovate and further explore more sustainable design options
• The Zalando Sustainability Award aims to encourage fashion brands to explore alternative approaches to design and production to contribute to a more responsible fashion industry that is less harmful to the environment

BERLIN, AUGUST 11, 2022 // Today, Zalando, a leading European online platform for fashion and lifestyle, announces RANRA as the winner of its fourth Zalando Sustainability Award in partnership with Copenhagen Fashion Week. RANRA particularly impressed the jury with an unexpected mix of colors and textures on the runway, which is not as prevalent in more sustainable shows, creating a highly fashionable show. The jury liked how the brand designed its collection with longevity in mind, with many of the garments being adaptable and versatile. This is the fourth season of a three-year strategic partnership between Zalando and Copenhagen Fashion Week, aimed at creating a more responsible fashion industry and support Zalando’s do.MORE strategy. The Zalando Sustainability Award encourages fashion brands to explore more sustainable alternatives and recognize strategies that contribute to a less harmful future.

According to the jury, the collection showcased at Copenhagen Fashion Week highlighted the brand's localized supply chain, with all fabrics sourced from its Italian supplier. The mix of fabrics and textures were unexpected, making each piece an exciting statement on the runway. RANRA will receive a prize of €20,000 and a partnership with Zalando to develop an exclusive collection that will further leverage more sustainable design solutions across materials, production processes, technological solutions and traceability. Zalando will make much of the SS23 collection showcased at Copenhagen Fashion Week available to its more than 49 million customers across 25 European markets.

Alice Marshall, Buying Director Womens Apparel at Zalando and Zalando Sustainability Award jury member says: “We are delighted to be able to announce RANRA as the fourth winner of the Zalando Sustainability Award at Copenhagen Fashion Week SS23. The jury and I were impressed with the beautiful use of colors, and the exciting use of fabrics in the garments. The genderless collection makes it a really interesing and inclusive collection for our customers. We look forward to working with RANRA to create a capsule collection that explores the advancements and innovations that Zalando consumers are looking for.”

RANRA Founders Arnar Mar Jonsson and Luke Stevens say: “It means the world to us to see our work being recognized by such a prestigious award. From the beginning it has been our goal to create a brand that will have an impact on how the industry is currently manufacturing; intervening within existing production methods or adapting historic approaches which offer more sustainable solutions to the issues the industry faces today. Winning this award is a huge step in further defining this path. More than ever, we feel motivated to keep pushing the boundaries of clothing design and how we define sustainability.”

Jury member Cecilie Thorsmark CEO, Copenhagen Fashion Week says, “I’m happy to be working with Zalando for another year at Copenhagen Fashion Week as the Zalando Sustainability Award actively drives positive change across the industry. As a Jury member, it’s been an exciting process to review so many innovative brands that are seeking and implementing more sustainable approaches and are therefore contributing to a more responsible fashion industry. With the announcement of RANRA as the winner of this edition, the brand’s long time dedication to combine its sustainability efforts with innovative ideas are not only resulting in exceptional designs but also reveal an experimental approach to their sustainability work that is truly inspiring.”

The runners-up, Raeburn and MWORKS were also recognized by the jury as innovators in the sustainability space, whose SS23 collections were inspiring for the future of the industry.

The Zalando Sustainability Award finalists’ collections were presented at Copenhagen Fashion Week’s Press venue from  9th - 12th August, 2022. The collections were also showcased in the Zalando Greenhouse, a digital showroom that allows consumers around the world to watch the shows through livestream. Other exclusive content will be available at the  Greenhouse such as the panel talk which ran on Wednesday 10th August - “What it takes for the fashion industry to be circular” (hosted by Lucy Maguire, Trends Editor at Vogue Business, with Laura Coppen, Zalando’s Head of Circularity,  Andrea Baldo, Ganni CEO, and Anna Vilén, Head of Communications for the innovation project SipTex at Sysav as panelists). 

ABOUT COPENHAGEN FASHION WEEK

Copenhagen Fashion Week is the largest fashion week in the Nordic region held biannually in January/February and August. Each season, Copenhagen Fashion Week welcomes leading international press, buyers and industry leaders across their global network to three days of shows, presentations and events alongside the two trade shows CIFF and Revolver. Sustainability is the core focus for Copenhagen Fashion Week, striving towards making substantial changes to inspire and encourage the industry to take steps towards positive and responsible change. In January 2020, Copenhagen Fashion Week unveiled an ambitious three-year Sustainability Action Plan, presenting an innovative system of minimum requirements for brands to be part of the official schedule as of 2023 (www.copenhagenfashionweek.com).

ABOUT THE ZALANDO SUSTAINABILITY AWARD SS23 FINALISTS

MWORKS
MWORKS is a Parisian based laboratory brand that combines clothing and art projects, using and promoting sustainable solutions and innovations, sourced across Europe. The concept of the brand has been imagined as an open hub where artists, experts, manufacturers and artisans are invited to work together and mix their visions and ideas. In a collective state of mind, the brand tries to think and propose a conscious fashion taking care of today and tomorrow.

RÆBURN
Christopher Raeburn has established his eponymous brand with responsible and intelligent fashion design for a global audience. The RÆMADE ethos in particular has pioneered the reworking of surplus fabrics and garments to create distinctive and functional pieces. Alongside this, a highly collaborative spirit informs luxurious, handcrafted and award-winning products with integrity and purpose. This innovative approach, with an unusual balance of high concept, accessibility and wearability, is applied to menswear, womenswear, luggage and accessories.With its RÆBURN Lab in the heart of East London, RÆBURN is stocked in the best stores globally and receives media coverage worldwide. Christopher won a Fashion Award in 2020, selected as one of the Honourees of the Environment category. The awards celebrate the individuals who have created positive change within the fashion industry, as chosen by 800 key members of the global fashion industry.

RANRA
RANRA is a London / Reykjavík based Design studio specializing in transitional outerwear pieces designed for both nature and the urban environment. The studio produces in Italy, using performance oriented, sustainably sourced fabrics and a mix of sportswear inspired techniques contrasted with artisanal hand-dyed finishes. Previously known as Arnar Mar Jonsson.

THE ZALANDO SUSTAINABILITY AWARD SS23 JURY MEMBERS:

Cecilie Thorsmark - CEO of Copenhagen Fashion Week
Kate Heiny - Director of Sustainability at Zalando
Alice Marshall - Buying Director Womens Apparel at Zalando
Arizona Muse - Model, Environmental Activist and Sustainability Consultant
Dio Kurazawa - Sustainability and Brand Advisor
Emily Chan - Sustainability Editor, VOGUE