Sustainability lies at the heart of the project named Metamorphosis

Radheya Visperas Ponce, a 2017 graduate in Fashion Design from VCUArts Qatar, has won the Red Dot Award Design Concept for her work. The current Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) post-graduate research student was recognised for her design concept, “Metamorphosis”, which used scrap materials to create hand manipulated textiles. 

Considered one of the preeminent award programs in the design field, this year’s Red Dot Design Awards received entries from over 4000 artists and designers hailing from 52 countries. 

Metamorphosis is a collection of hand manipulated textiles made from second-hand fabrics, collected as memorabilia from different people and places. Some of those who sent in scrap material also shared brief descriptions of what those pieces of cloth meant to them at various points of their lives. 

Ponce says the piece encourages personal and sensorial interaction with the viewer, evoking a sustainable and enduring legacy of poignant, joyful and ordinary moments that make up our daily lives.

The fiber artist, who was raised in Doha, says her time at VCUarts Qatar laid the foundation for her interest in sustainable and experimental design, as well as a deeper interest in textiles and craft.

“The four years at VCUarts Qatar triggered me to think of fashion as something beyond designing apparel, opening up a world of possibilities that were both sustainable and beautiful,” said Ponce. “Moving forward, it is a pathway that I would like to pursue; my ultimate goal is to set up my own studio practice that offers sustainable art and design.”