Sustasia Fashion Prize: yehyehyeh’s inaugural sustainable fashion competition, held during Shanghai Fashion Week, crowns Chinese designer Ruohan Nie as its first winner

Apr 22 , 2025

Designer Ruohan Nie prepares her winning design for the Sustasia Fashion Prize final. Photo: Shanghai Fashion Week

The Sustasia Fashion Prize, which featured judges including yehyehyeh’s Shaway Yeh, starred 8 innovative Asian designers, also including Angel Chen of China, India’s Pratyush Kumar and Japan’s Tetsuya Doi

Amid all the hustle and bustle of Shanghai Fashion Week this past season, one event stood out for its outstanding showcase of Asian designers making strides in sustainability: the 2025 Sustasia Fashion Prize ceremony. A joint initiative by the Shanghai Fashion Designers Association and creative agency yehyehyeh, the prize went to Chinese designer Ruohan Nie as its inaugural winner. She is best known for her eponymous label, Ruohan, which has become a hit across Asia and beyond since launching in 2021.

Sustasia Fashion Prize designers and judges. Photo: Shanghai Fashion Week

The announcement was made in the presence of esteemed entrepreneurs and talented designers from all across Asia at Shanghai’s Suhe Haus on March 28. Visitors to the cultural hub are invited to check out all eight finalists’ work, on display now in a curated exhibition titled “Out of Asia”. The other finalists were Hong Kong’s Karmuel Young, Jaggy Glarino of the Philippines, Kha Hoang Ngo of Vietnam, Angel Chen of China, Pratyush Kumar of India, Tetsuya Doi of Japan and Tommy Ambiyo Tedji of Indonesia.

The work of the inaugural Sustasia Fashion Prize finalists is on show at Shanghai’s Suhe Haus. Photo: Shanghai Fashion Week

For her efforts in integrating sustainability and the very language of her designs – Ruohan is known for producing garments that shape-shift and transform, rendering terms like “top” and “trousers” arbitrary – the victor took home a 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) cash prize.

The Sustasia Fashion Prize features designers from across the continent. Photo: Shanghai Fashion Week

This year’s judging panel comprised Chinese tennis legend Li Na as well as leading sustainability experts and top fashion executives such as Sarah Cragg, who oversees Asia operations for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize; Andrew Wu, president of LVMH Greater China; and yehyehyeh’s very own founder, Shaway Yeh. As one of the leading voices on China’s sustainability scene since establishing yehyehyeh in 2017, Yeh expressed great pride in this year’s finalists and gratitude for the outpouring of support for the Sustasia Fashion Prize’s inaugural ceremony.

The Sustasia Fashion Prize judges. Photo: Shanghai Fashion Week

“The biggest surprise comes from the amazing combination of traditional craftsmanship [and] cultural heritage with the most technologically advanced materials,” Yeh said of the finalists’ collections, “and all for a plant-positive creative strategy. We feel this serves the model of next-gen design and fashion.”

Shaway Yeh, a judge for the Sustasia Fashion Prize. Photo: Shanghai Fashion Week

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