On April 21, 2022, the press conference of the China-Italy Youth Future Fashion Design Competition 2022 was held at Innovation Plaza, Tus Park at Tsinghua University. Guests attending the event include Giuliano Noci, Vice-Rector of Politecnico di Milano and Co-chair of the Competition; Li Jinliang, Director of the Competition’s Organizing Committee, Head of Office of International Affairs, Tsinghua University, and Director of the China-Italy Design Innovation Hub; Yuan Xiaowen, member of the CPC Standing Committee of Keqiao District, Shaoxing City and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Zhejiang China Light & Textile Industrial City Group; Wang Junfeng, Vice Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Construction Management Committee of China Textile City, and Yan Wei, Deputy Director of the Organization Department and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Non-public Economic and Social Organizations of Keqiao District. The conference was presided over by Zang Yingchun, Acting Dean of the Tsinghua Arts & Design Institute in Milan, Head of the Department of Textile and Fashion Design, Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (AADTHU), and Deputy Director of the China-Italy Design Innovation Hub of Tsinghua University.
Speech by Giuliano Noci
Giuliano Noci, Vice-Rector of Politecnico di Milano, stressed that since Italy and China established diplomatic ties 50 years ago, the bilateral relations have enjoyed vibrant growth and the two people have achieved enduring friendship. Politecnico di Milano and Tsinghua University are important strategic partners enjoying close cooperation on talent cultivation and industrial innovation. The competition serves as an excellent platform to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation on education and social undertakings, as well as a channel to boost cooperation and innovation of universities and talent in our two countries. Taking fashion design at its core, the competition aims at initiating more international cooperation and exchanges and inspiring creative ideas about fashion design with more talent, so as to take the lead in this regard.
Speech by Yuan Xiaowen
Yuan Xiaowen, member of the CPC Standing Committee of Keqiao District, Shaoxing City, and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Zhejiang China Light & Textile Industrial City Group noted in the speech that Keqiao District, deeply rooted in the modern textile industry, has exerted itself to become the international center of textile and make Keqiao a star area among Hangzhou and Shaoxing. With the unique advantage shaped by the “textile + market” model and the most well-rounded industrial chain as well as the marketing system nationwide, Keqiao District has become the most outstanding textile cluster base in China. The China-Italy Youth Future Fashion Design Competition is a key project jointly hosted by Keqiao District, Tsinghua University, and Politecnico di Milano. The first competition has made fruitful achievements. It is expected to witness another big success of the Competition this year, which would help score more achievements in politics, production, learning, research, and application between local businesses and universities home and abroad, and contribute to fruitful results from bilateral cooperation on science and technology, culture, education, and trade, so as to shape a better future benefitting us all.
Speech by Li Jinliang
Li Jinliang, director of the competition organizing committee, director of the International Affairs Office of Tsinghua University and director of the Sino Italian design innovation center, pointed out that China and Italy are excellent countries with eastern and Western civilizations respectively, and our friendship has a long history. Since the first signing of the cooperation agreement in 2010, Tsinghua University and Milan Polytechnic University have maintained an extensive and in-depth strategic partnership, which is the epitome of China Italy friendship. He stressed that this competition will bring together the innovative achievements of young people around the world, carry out design, and explore cutting-edge fashion trends with "beauty as the medium and art as the bridge". China and Italy will focus on the new global scientific and technological revolution, strive to create a better life and common progress for the people, jointly inject new vitality into global sustainable development, and actively make greater contributions to cultural exchanges between the two sides and the future community of mankind.
Zang Yingchun presiding over the press conference
Official video Released
The official video of the Competition was released at the press conference, which introduced the theme, categories, and awards.
Keynote speech by Li Dangqi
Li Dangqi, Deputy Director of the Academic Committee of Tsinghua University, Chairman of the China Fashion Designers Association, and Professor of AADTHU pointed out the highlights of the Competition and elaborated his interpretations of design based on his working experience for many years. He noted that designing is a kind of creation, rather than invention. It requires to make breakthroughs, rather than just changing something. Unlike pure art creation, design has to solve practical problems with a clear goal, pursuing “utility” aside from “beauty”. And it is a process to make compromises among various demands, and to integrate or combine different resources as well. Design must be rooted in life, but also needs to showcase the history and the wisdom of human beings.
He summarized three requirements for apparel design, namely, nice-looking, comfortable, and feasible, and three dimensions for design, namely, a masterpiece, a product, and a commodity. He also shared the whole design process from brainstorming to compromising. Li said that the China-Italy Youth Future Fashion Design Competition is absolutely an international event since its participants, judges, and members of the organizing committees come from every corner of the globe. The competition, held jointly by two prestigious universities and an industrial base, features creativity and innovation, with the mission to transform industrial achievements. He called on young designers to wholeheartedly take part in the Competition and try their best to make masterpieces and wished that they could learn from the process with their horizons widely broadened.
Keynote speech by Silvia Piardi
Professor Silvia Piardi, Honorary Professor and member of the Research Ethical Committee at Politecnico di Milano, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Tsinghua University, and former Director of the Design Department and member of the Academic Committee of Politecnico di Milano, made a wonderful analysis on contemporary Italian fashion design in her keynote speech and emphasized the emerging digital fashion trends. She believed that contemporary fashion design is developing sustainably, and solutions to sustainable fashion are related to all respects of fashion products, from production to sales, from purchase to utility, from waste to recycling, as well as new materials, new technologies, new methods of using and new concepts of consumption. She noted that moral principles are increasingly important in the field of fashion, design, and research, and that sustainability comprises broader meanings of social, environmental, and economic sectors. At the same time, in fashion design, we should respect the uniqueness and value of everyone. Professor Silvia Piardi also sent her best wishes to the participants and hoped that they could contribute to the sound development of the fashion industry through their research and exploration.
Q&A Session
In the Q&A session, reporters and guest speakers exchanged views on how to practice sustainability in design, how to maintain characteristics in cultural exchanges, how to change people’s lives with artistic design, and how to combine the outstanding talent and works of the competition with the industry.
A glimpse of the press conference
The China-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism kicks off this year. To enhance exchanges and cooperation on creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship between the youth of the two countries, and encourage the fusion of art and technology, the China-Italy Youth Future Fashion Design Competition, jointly sponsored by Tsinghua University, Politecnico di Milano and Keqiao District People’s Government of Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, will be launched in a fresh manner. 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 cutting-edge design talent with creativity and vitality. In addition, it will also explore the future of global fashion design and facilitate the transformation of innovative achievements of design, in a bid to accelerate the industrial upgrading of the two countries, satisfy people’s aspiration for a better life, and gather the global power for low-carbon and sustainable design.
The Competition is themed on “Sustainable Fashion.” “Sustainable design emphasizes the use of limited resources on earth and always contributes to environmental protection.” The Competition calls for realizing sustainable design of textile, apparel, and accessories. By creating new materials and recycling old ones, exploring new design methods, creating the concept of sustainable design, and improving its system, we can constantly shape and reshape the philosophy of consumption, contribute to the harmonious development of man and nature, carry forward and expand the essence of fashion and upgrade the ecosystem of sustainable design. The Competition has three categories: textile’s printing design, fashion design, and accessories design.
Entries will be collected from April to July and preliminarily evaluated in August. During the Competition, the Organizing Committee will hold salons, workshops, and other supporting activities, and offer policy services to transform the achievements and implement the projects.
A parallel session of the conference was set in Keqiao District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province. Representatives of faculty and students from Tsinghua University, relevant leaders of Keqiao District People’s Government of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and reporters, totaling over 70, attended the conference online and onsite.
Official website: http://ciyff.cidih.tsinghua.edu.cn
