What were the requirements?
All entrants had to be between 14 and 30 years-old at the time of submission, and the contest was open to participants globally.
The brief itself was broad and open to interpretation with the competition criteria simply requiring young creatives to:
- Interpret the climate emergency through a chosen creative medium
- Submissions can be any medium including, but not limited to, photography projects, docu-style and experimental film, performance art, spoken word, musical compositions, fashion design, new media and social media projects
The competition itself was judged by designer Francisco Costa, Eco-Age founder Livia Firth, fashion designer Gabriela Hearst, artist and poet Wilson Oryema, agent Giovanni Testino, photographer Harley Weir, and Vogue Italia creative director Ferdinando Verderi.
How did it go?
Hundreds of young creatives from 40 countries submitted works to the competition, in mediums including poetry, fashion, design and sculpture, and Nicholas Bennett has today been named the winner of #CreateCOP25. The 19 year-old designed a suit for people to wear during flooded commutes; having seen his local community in Yorkshire affected by floods in recent years, Nicholas created a darkly humorous work that confronts the threat of unpredictable weather. Speaking about the concept behind his work ‘Sustainable Tradition’, Nicholas says; “So many of us are conflicted within ourselves about the climate crisis as we try to balance our heritage and current way of living with how we may have to change in future. […] This is fast becoming reality. We have to rethink our skins.”