On May 6, 2021, “2021 China-Italy Youth Future Fashion Design Competition” jointly sponsored by Tsinghua University, Politecnico di Milano and Shaoxing People’s Government was officially launched on the opening show of the 9th Keqiao Fashion Week. The Competition is jointly organized by China-Italy Design Innovation Hub of Tsinghua University, CCYL Tsinghua University Committee, The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Education Alliance of China, POLIHUB of Politecnico di Milano, and the Construction and Management Committee of Zhejiang China Light & Textile City Group Co., Ltd. Giuliano Noci (Vice President of Politecnico di Milano and Co-chairman of the Competition) and Li Jinliang (Director of the Competition’s Organizing Committee, Head of Office of International Affairs, Tsinghua University and Director of China-Italy Design Innovation Hub) delivered video speeches successively.
Sun Ruizhe (Chairman of International Textile Manufacturers Federation and President of China National Textile And Apparel Council), Jiang Ming (Chairman of China General Chamber of Commerce), Zhao Rulang (Secretary of the CPC Keqiao District Committee, Shaoxing City), Wang Guobiao (Vice Head of Organization Department of the CPC Shaoxing Municipal Committee and Managing Vice Director of Talent Office), Fu Zhiyong (Deputy Director of China-Italy Design Innovation Hub, Tsinghua University) and Yang Qingmei (Secretary General of Management Committee of China-Italy Design Innovation Hub, Tsinghua University) attended the ceremony.
Secretary General Xi Jinping pointed out when he visited Tsinghua University on April 19, 2021 that “fine arts, arts, science, and technology complement and promote each other”, and “it is important to boost our cultural confidence, take beauty as the medium, and strengthen international cultural exchanges.” The Competition is an essential move to implement the spirits of President Xi Jinping’s speech.
Themed on “Tech for Fashion”, the Competition advocates “Tech for Fashion” and collects works oriented at “Fashion Design”, “Fashion Technology” and “Fashion Lifestyle”. It is committed to integrating high-quality resources in universities and industries, building an international platform for design exchanges, gathering talented designers with influence and creativity, promoting the application of innovative achievements and seizing the cutting-edge trends in global fashion.
“How can fashion aesthetics be interpreted by innovative design? How does fashion design complement art and technology...” At the opening ceremony, one question after another kicked off the Competition and hunted for answers by young people on the terrain of their infinite imagination.
China-Italy Youth Future Fashion Design Competition is an important event of “China-Italy Year of Youth Innovation & Entrepreneurship” launched by Tsinghua University and Politecnico di Milano on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Italy. Giuliano Noci pointed out that China-Italy diplomatic relations has been flourishing since the establishment 50 years ago. As important strategic partners, Politecnico di Milano and Tsinghua University has cooperated closely in the fields of talent training and industrial innovation. He hoped to gather more innovative design talents, strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, promote innovation in fashion design and lead the future trend of global fashion design through the Competition.
Li Jinliang pointed out that the Competition held by Tsinghua University, together with Politecnico di Milano, to pool up the design innovation resources, was a move to, based on competing and with beauty as the media, encourages the fusion of arts and technology, takes beauty as the medium, builds up an international platform for fashion innovation, and explores the cutting-edge trends for leading the future fashion. He called on innovative young practitioners of fashion design from China and Italy as well as global artists, designers to actively participate in the Competition to build a global fashion innovation platform and strengthen international cultural exchanges.
In addition to each “Special Award of the Zhejiang China Light & Textile Industrial City Group” of RMB 120,000 with packaged innovation and entrepreneurship resources for “Fashion Design”, “Fashion Technology” and “Fashion Lifestyle” respectively, a total of 27 special awards including “Award of the Most Popular Design”, “Award of the Most Potential Design”, “Award of the Most Commercially Valuable Design” and “Award of Innovative Designer” were established for the Competition. The final and award ceremony of the Competition will be held during the World Textile Merchandising Conference in October.
The Competition will integrate resources in fashion design, innovative education, academic research, and industrial incubation, deepen the fusion of design innovation, production, and education, and discover and cultivate cutting-edge design talent with creativity and vitality. It will also explore the future of global fashion design, fashion technology, and fashion lifestyle, promote the organic synergy between the chains of education and talent cultivation and the chains of industry and innovation, and facilitate the transformation of innovative achievements of design into strengths, in a bid to accelerate the upgrading of industries in the two countries, satisfy people’s aspiration for better life, and consolidate the sustainable development of global design.
Located in the golden hinterland of Hangzhou Great Bay Area, Keqiao District of Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province enjoys an obviously advantageous geographical location and strong economic strength. Based on textile, 130,000 market players and more than 1,100 enterprises above the designated size constitute a modern textile industry system featuring the greatest production capacity, the most complete industrial chain and the most advanced manufacturing facilities in China. It has gathered nearly one third of green printing and dyeing capacity in China. Located in Keqiao, China Light & Textile Industrial City is crowned as the world’s largest professional textile market. The unique advantage of “industry plus market” has laid a solid foundation for the city to become a strong economic zone in China. With nearly a quarter of the world’s textile product trades, it boasts a high agglomeration of textile industries.
