Toray Selects 2020 Ultrasuede® x Labelhood Innovation Award Winner

Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has chosen partner designers Shimo Zhou and Une Yea from Shanghai-based international menswear brand STAFFONLY as the joint winners of the 2020 Ultrasuede® x Labelhood Innovation Award.

In its second year, this award is in collaboration with Labelhood. Also based in Shanghai, this is a fashion incubator for young independent designers in China. The two earned this award because of the unique, quirky, on-trend conceptual underpinnings of their creations, which push the boundaries of fashion.

Toray and Labelhood created this award program in keeping with their complementary visions, Toray’s being to social prosperity and a better future for generations to come and Labelhood’s being to invigorate the Chinese fashion scene.

On April 10, STAFFONLY plans to hold a live stream announcement of a fall/winter 2020 collection employing Ultrasuede.

Toray brought out Ultrasuede in 1970. Over the years, the applications for this stylish, high-performance material have expanded to encompass everything from fashion to residential, automotive, and aviation interiors to mobile device accessories. Toray looks forward to collaborating with STAFFONLY to broaden the horizons of the Ultrasuede brand in China’s booming fashion market. The company will continue to drive the evolution of this inherently beautiful, responsibly engineered material.

About the award recipients

London College of Fashion graduate Shimo Zhou and Royal College of Art alumni Une Yea cofounded STAFFONLY in 2015. Their vital, contemporary designs immediately gained attention and acclaim in China and around the globe. The two have collaborated in collaborations with Chinese and international brands.

STAFFONLY fall/winter 2020 collection live stream announcement

This event will run from 21:00. JST on April 10, and will be accessible through the following STAFFONLY site:　http://www.staffonlystudio.com/

About Labelhood

This platform was launched in 2016 to foster the progress of China’s youth culture. It operates a store offering select domestic designer brands and conceives and runs a range of fashion events. The Labelhood Pioneer Fashion & Arts Festival is an official Shanghai Fashion Week event.