The Colourist: New Zealand Winner announced for International Design Competition
We’re delighted to announce the winner of the New Zealand Heat of the International Design Competition, following this year’s international heats held across the UK, India, Bangladesh, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
This year’s theme, Climate Threads, challenged participants to respond to the urgent realities of climate change through commercial thinking alongside innovative and sustainable textile design. The New Zealand Heat showcased a strong range of creative responses to the brief, with the winning project exploring the relationship between climate change, biodiversity and material innovation through the lens of natural dye practices.
Congratulations to the New Zealand Heat Winner
Huge congratulations to Amy Scott, a student on the Transformative Creative Practices in Material Innovation course at Toi Rauwhārangi, College of Creative Arts, Massey University Wellington, New Zealand, whose project The Colours of Six-legged Lives was selected as the overall New Zealand winner.
Amy’s project explores the impact of climate change on often-overlooked insect species, particularly pollinators, while challenging extractive approaches to the use of natural materials within textile production.
Drawing inspiration from local ecological relationships, they began by creating natural dyes from locally foraged plant matter before refining their research to focus specifically on pollinator-dependent plants. Through this process, Amy considered the vital role insects play within ecosystems and the wider implications of their global decline.
At the heart of the project is the idea that humans are not separate from nature but are interconnected with the many species and systems that sustain life. Through a series of textile collages and eco-prints, Amy allowed the characteristics of the plant materials themselves to help guide the creative process, resulting in a harmonious palette of yellows, greens, greys and browns.
The project also demonstrates a thoughtful approach to commercial application. Rather than proposing large-scale textile production, Amy envisages the naturally dyed fabrics being used for garment details such as collars, cuffs, pockets and trims. This slower, more considered approach supports sustainable production methods while celebrating the uniqueness of naturally dyed textiles.
By encouraging consumers to develop a relationship of care and attention with products that evolve over time, the project challenges fast-fashion thinking and promotes more responsible patterns of consumption. Amy’s work also highlights the potential for biodegradable, naturally dyed textiles that can be repurposed, re-dyed or ultimately returned to the earth.
The Colours of Six-legged Lives offers a compelling interpretation of this year’s theme, combining environmental awareness, material innovation and commercial viability to imagine a more responsible and optimistic future for textile design.
Looking ahead to the International Grand Final
Amy will now go on to represent New Zealand at the International Grand Final of the International Design Competition, hosted at the William Morris Gallery in London this November.
There, they will compete against the winners of the International Heats, bringing together emerging textile talent from around the world in celebration of innovation, sustainability and the future of textile design.
We congratulate Amy on this outstanding achievement and thank everyone who took part in the New Zealand Heat for their creativity, commitment and contribution to this year’s competition.