ITS# 9
Now celebrating its 9th year ‘ITS’ is an International Talent Support competition, supported by Diesel, that brings young fashion hopefuls together in the enchanted city of Trieste, Italy. This is a fashion competition that reminds you what is important in fashion – energy, commitment and passion over ego. And where better to look than the graduates?
“Historically exceptional craftsmanship was the norm and now it is the exception,” read the opening lines on one portfolio. But with over 7363 applications, from over 880 fashion schools, with past winner including Mark Fast, this is the competition to prove this theory wrong. The finalists of twelve fashion design students, six from English colleges, plus a group for accessories designers, with an impressive eight out of ten from English courses. The students had to present their work to a jury, which included Viktor and Rolf, before the winners were announced at a showcase along the seafront.
“This is how I find new talent,” says Diesel’s CEO Renzo Russo, who has been involved since the beginning, “ITS is so important for the future and to find the future - fashion cannot exist without fresh, new talent and ideas.”
Courtney McWilliams, Martina Spetlova and Astrid Andersen’s spin on the hip hop meets matador showed why British Fashion Designers, and their schools, are the envy of the world. But this year accessory design stole the show. London College of Fashion dominated the finals, under the tutelage of designer-turned-Professor Dai Rees as heels, headpieces and luggage were produced, and accompanied with slick sketchbooks explaining everything from their concept to their costings. The quote that had lamented the decline in craftsmanship proved to be exception herself. Sarah William’s collection of classic luggage pieces made the humble Globetrotter look as if Salvador Dali had revamped Longchamp or Smythson – as she should be. Williams picked up the Absolut, as well as the ITS Accessories Collection of the Year Award, while Japan’s Takashi Nishiyama, Viktor and Rolf’s favourite, won ITS Fashion Collection of the year and showed a taste of a global, bright, future face of fashion.
For more information on winners, or to enter the ITS 10 celebration, log onto: www.itsweb.org
