Petra Fagerström was crowned the Challenge the Fabric (CTF) 2025 winner.
The Swedish-born and London-based designer took home the $10,000 prize for her lenticular pleated and brazen, bespoke-tailored pieces. Fagerström said the funding will help her solo venture develop the debut collection of her eponymous label for retailers, already embraced by the likes of Charli XCX.
The cross-industry initiative’s fifth contest championing man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCF) was held during the two-day CTF Symposium in Milan on May 13-14. Hosted by pulp, paper and packaging firm Ekman Group and organized by the Swedish Fashion Council (SFC), highlighted material innovation as to compound collaboration by connecting the various players within MMCF’s supply chain.
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“The CTF Award remains a valuable example of how collaboration between emerging designers and material innovators can open up to new perspectives and directions for the industry,” per the initiative’s founder, Nina Elmersson, who also heads the Ekman Group’s Innovare division.
Fragerström—celebrated for the “commercial potential” of her creations made with Sappi Verve jersey and Ecocell twill—competed alongside six fellow innovators, each assigned one or two recycled materials to work with 10 meters of MMCF fabric provided by CFT-selected and sustainable-minded fiber partners.
London label Louther worked with HerMin Textile while fellow Fashion East designer Nuba teamed with Birla Cellulose. Chinese designer Oscar Quyang was partnered with Eastman Naia Renew, and Paris-based American designer Shan Huq was paired with the Lenzing Group. New York-based Women’s History Museum worked with Circ in partnership with Pyratex, while fellow NYC designer Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen used Circulose in collaboration with Inimiti’s plant-dying strategic partner, Sinoteco.
All seven finalists’ looks were displayed at the CTF Award Exhibition, an extension of the CTF Award, held at Milan’s Palazzo Giureconsulti. “Designed as an experience,” per the organization, the space held space, intentionally “leaving room” for each designer to not just showcase their pieces but also share the creative process. A panel of international industry insiders was then tasked with judging those projects, considering criteria like creativity and cleverness using MMCF.
“CTF and [its] award is not only about aesthetics or trends—it’s about ideas, values, the power of design to imagine better futures. Futures that are inclusive, circular and deeply connected to our global community,” said Jennie Rosén, CEO of the SFC. “That is why CTF matters.”
Ellen Hodakova Larsson, founder and creative director at Hodakova; Andrea Rosso, sustainability ambassador at Diesel; Gia Kuan, founder of Gia Kuan Consulting; Martina Tiefenthaler, creative director and creative consultant; Serge Carreira, director of emerging brands initiative at the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM); and Riccardo Turrisi, sustainable innovation manager at Kering; and Aldo Camillo Gotti, a fashion retail executive, comprised the jury.
“It is our great pleasure to announce Petra Fagerström as the winner of the 2025 CTF Award, a designer who has demonstrated strength across all criteria: innovation, creativity, commercial potential, brand purpose and future impact and whose work speaks clearly, and with conviction,” Carreira said on behalf of the jury.
“We are thrilled to wrap up this year’s edition of CTF [as] our commitment remains steadfast: to continue to foster meaningful connections and collaborative progress across the MMCF supply chain,” Elmersson said. “The conversations, showcased collaborations and shared insights this year reaffirmed the power of connection in driving real change.”
Regarding connection, Fagerström was inducted into the SFC’s talent incubator in 2023 and officially launched her eponymous label in September. Though a newcomer, her tech-driven trompe l’oeils have drawn lingering looks from the luxury sector, bolstered by Fagerström’s bespoke tailoring experience at brands like Acne Studios and Byredo.
The Central Saint Martins (CMS) alumna was this year’s top co-recipient of the constituent college’s coveted L’Oreal Professionnel Creative Award, a prize annually recognizing and supporting emerging student talent. Japanese influencer Yu Masui cherry-picked Fragerström—and fellow co-recipient, William Palmer—for her “satirical take on British cliches and preconceived notions of masculinity,” Sourcing Journal’s sister publication WWD reported.
Tangentially, CTF’s 2024 winner Yaku Stapleton received the L’Oreal Award in 2023.
And, much like the Afrofuturism-inspired designer, Fagerström “infuses independent creative expression and storytelling” to “forge connections beyond aesthetics,” according to the former Balenciaga intern’s website. It’s something of a four-quadrant balancing act beloved by both the sector and the shopper for its splash radius.
Fagerström’s BFA collection of lenticular pleats and militaristic outerwear preceded placement as a finalist for Barbara Franchin’s International Talent Support (ITS) contest in Italy during 2022. The following year, the former Tailor A.W. Bauer apprentice’s efforts were further recognized in 2023 with the Mercedes Benz Sustainability Prize at the 38th Festival d’Hyères. Chanel lauded the label’s “innovative use of discarded materials” with the Atelier des Matières Prize in 2024.
