Staff Champion/Winner category

Dr Yassie Samie is a postdoctoral researcher and changemaker accelerating circularity in the fashion industry. Based at RMIT’s School of Fashion & Textiles, Yassie managed the development of the Refashioning Circular Design Guide—a practical, open-source tool co-created with A.BCH World, Country Road Group, Julie Boulton Strategy and Sustainability, and funded by Sustainability Victoria. Her work has helped embed circular design practices across brands, education, and national policy, while also shaping public discourse through events, publications, and teaching. As Circular Campus to Community Lead and a nationally recognised emerging circularity leader, Yassie champions collaborative, design-led action that bridges vision and real-world impact.

Finalist – Yassie Samie

Impacts and Benefits

  • Managed Refashioning: Accelerating Circular Product Design at Scale, a 12-month project involving 24 professionals across four fashion brands and eight sub-brands.
  • Refashioning, adopted by Seamless (Australia’s national clothing stewardship scheme) and supported by Sustainability Victoria, saw 2,200+ downloads across 38 countries within six weeks of launch.
  • Embedded the guide into tertiary curriculum and professional development training.
  • Integrated real-world sustainability tools and insights into classroom teaching and industry events.

Leadership and Engagement

  • Worked across sectors—academia, government, and industry—to co-create a resource with broad, lasting relevance. 
  • Led workshops, chaired academic and industry panels, reviewed articles for leading journals, developed training tools, and managed complex project delivery—demonstrating impact well beyond formal academic duties.
  • Curated panel events for Melbourne Fashion Week (2024), drawing 130+ attendees.
  • Authored pieces in Nature Cities, The Conversation, and Waste Management Review, highlighting circularity in urban and industrial systems. One study reached over 54 million people nationally and globally, in six weeks of publication.
  • Models inclusive, hands-on leadership and a values-driven approach to systems change.

Wider Societal Impact

  • Supports industry-wide transformation toward a circular economy in fashion.
  • Influences national clothing sustainability initiatives through policy, training and public dialogue.
  • Empowers designers to adopt responsible, regenerative practices across the product lifecycle.
  • Shapes future sustainability leaders through education and cross-sector collaboration.
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Past Winners

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Staff Champion/Winner category

Dr Yassie Samie is a postdoctoral researcher and changemaker accelerating circularity in the fashion industry. Based at RMIT’s School of Fashion & Textiles, Yassie managed the development of the Refashioning Circular Design Guide—a practical, open-source tool co-created with A.BCH World, Country Road Group, Julie Boulton Strategy and Sustainability, and funded by Sustainability Victoria. Her work has helped embed circular design practices across brands, education, and national policy, while also shaping public discourse through events, publications, and teaching. As Circular Campus to Community Lead and a nationally recognised emerging circularity leader, Yassie champions collaborative, design-led action that bridges vision and real-world impact.

Finalist – Yassie Samie

Impacts and Benefits

  • Managed Refashioning: Accelerating Circular Product Design at Scale, a 12-month project involving 24 professionals across four fashion brands and eight sub-brands.
  • Refashioning, adopted by Seamless (Australia’s national clothing stewardship scheme) and supported by Sustainability Victoria, saw 2,200+ downloads across 38 countries within six weeks of launch.
  • Embedded the guide into tertiary curriculum and professional development training.
  • Integrated real-world sustainability tools and insights into classroom teaching and industry events.

Leadership and Engagement

  • Worked across sectors—academia, government, and industry—to co-create a resource with broad, lasting relevance. 
  • Led workshops, chaired academic and industry panels, reviewed articles for leading journals, developed training tools, and managed complex project delivery—demonstrating impact well beyond formal academic duties.
  • Curated panel events for Melbourne Fashion Week (2024), drawing 130+ attendees.
  • Authored pieces in Nature Cities, The Conversation, and Waste Management Review, highlighting circularity in urban and industrial systems. One study reached over 54 million people nationally and globally, in six weeks of publication.
  • Models inclusive, hands-on leadership and a values-driven approach to systems change.

Wider Societal Impact

  • Supports industry-wide transformation toward a circular economy in fashion.
  • Influences national clothing sustainability initiatives through policy, training and public dialogue.
  • Empowers designers to adopt responsible, regenerative practices across the product lifecycle.
  • Shapes future sustainability leaders through education and cross-sector collaboration.

Supported by

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Related finalists

Other finalists