Malaysia Fashion Creativity Award 2025
The Sustainable Development Goals SDG is a worldwide call to action to eradicate poverty, safeguard the earth’s ecology and climate, and ensure that people everywhere may live in peace and prosperity. Fashion production accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions, dries up water supplies, and pollutes rivers, seas, and streams. Furthermore, 85% of all textiles are discarded yearly (UNECE, 2018), and washing some clothing releases considerable amounts of microplastics into the ocean. Beyond the environmental impact, the fashion industry is closely linked to labour, gender, and poverty issues. Clothing and textile waste have a high environmental cost since they result in landfills and harm the environment. Changing the fashion industry’s production and consumption patterns would have a flow-on effect on many areas of development, making a visible and meaningful contribution to the success of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.
What is MFCA all about?
Rethinking Fashion Future + JIWA Kuala Lumpur 2.0
01.
About
Malaysia Fashion Creativity Award is back with “Rethinking Fashion Future + JIWA Kuala Lumpur 2.0”, a pioneering sustainable fashion design competition that captures the essence, culture, and identity of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. This yearly contest invites emerging fashion graduates, small-scale fashion entrepreneurs and artisans to exhibit ingenuity by crafting collections that combine sustainability and the JIWA (soul) Kuala Lumpur. The competition is a beacon for creative minds seeking to merge artistic expression with eco-conscious practices. Open to all Malaysian citizens and residents, the Malaysia Fashion Creativity Award offers a platform for participants to translate the vibrant life of Kuala Lumpur into fashion statements that resonate with environmental stewardship and social responsibility. The application call is now open, with an application deadline of July 1st, 2025. Selected finalists earn the chance to showcase their collections at a grand finale event, celebrating the intersection of creativity and sustainability. Building on the success of its inaugural competition in 2023 and the recently held Jiwa Kuala Lumpur Showcase presentation from Class of 2024, the Malaysia Fashion Creativity Award continues to champion the integration of sustainable practices in the fashion industry, fostering a new generation of designers equipped to meet the challenges of ethical fashion.
02.
Mission
Malaysia Fashion Creativity Award “Rethinking Fashion Future + JIWA Kuala Lumpur” represents an opportunity for fashion designers to channel their creative mission into creating socially responsible and environmentally sustainable collections. Drawing inspiration from the rich cultural tapestry and dynamic energy of Kuala Lumpur, designers are challenged to incorporate the city’s essence into their work. The “JIWA Kuala Lumpur” theme further emphasises integrating circular design principles, urging designers to adopt recycling, reuse, and upcycling (RRU) strategies. These strategies are essential for turning waste into valuable products and reducing the fashion industry’s environmental impact, including greenhouse gases, water use, and landfill waste. Selected finalists will receive a 6-month learning program from industry experts and practitioners to enhance their RRU skills and showcase their ability to turn waste into fashion for the market. This program is designed to refine their proficiency in RRU methodologies throughout the stages of design conception and execution. Moreover, finalists will have the occasion to exhibit their ingenuity and technical understanding by transforming waste into wearable design, ultimately contributing to the consumer market.
03.
Vision
JIWA Kuala Lumpur redefines the fashion design competition, serving as a platform for designers and artisans to express their creativity influenced by Kuala Lumpur’s rich cultural diversity. This contest is a call to action for sustainable and ethical fashion, urging designers and artisans to weave innovation, awareness, and accountability into their creations. We aim to spark a fashion revolution, celebrating every aspect of Malaysian culture through each design. We strive to foster a community where brands and consumers become stewards of the environment, choosing fashion that aligns with eco-friendliness and social justice. JIWA Kuala Lumpur allows designers and artisans to grow and innovate, encouraging partnerships that uphold sustainable and equitable practices. Looking ahead to 2030, we strive to lead in cultivating entrepreneurial spirit and social innovation within Malaysia’s fashion industry. We are committed to being the trailblazers for sustainable fashion, pushing for transformation, and honouring the distinctiveness of fashion as an integral part of our cultural fabric. Through JIWA Kuala Lumpur, we are dedicated to shaping a future where fashion is a visible advocate for positive change, resonating with the spirit of creativity, community, and inclusivity. We pledge to divert fabric waste in Malaysia through the reuse, recycling, and up-cycle (RRU) method in the fashion industry aligned with the UN SDG to achieve:
SDG 4 – Quality Education, SDG 8 – Decent Work & Economic Growth, SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities & Communities, SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption & Production, SDG 13 – Climate Action and SDG 17 – Partnerships For The Goals
04.
What's next?
Design and craftsmanship weave the fabric of slow fashion, a mindful approach valuing quality over speed. The designer’s creativity and artisans’ hands shape this movement, their seasoned skills infusing each piece with a story. They’re not just creators but guardians of tradition and sustainability, stitching solutions into social and environmental tapestries.
Set sail on an adventure in Kuala Lumpur that requires you to finish a 6-month quest for the RM25,000.00 scholarships that will be awarded to the finalists. In this journey, we will meet artisans and fashion designers who are prepared to thread their creativity through the sustainability needle. Here, creatives from all walks of life come together to perfect their eco-friendly creations. Making connections, broadening horizons, managing tasks in the fashion industry, and crafting a lovely future where fashion and Earth coexist are more important than just learning. At the final gala showcase, participants will have the chance to display their collections while honouring the way creativity and sustainability meet.
See the Design Challenge Brief below for more details.