ITS competition opens entries for 2021 edition

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Isabelle Crossley

Published
May 12, 2021

ITS has launched its 19th edition with new prizes and projects. After holding a fully online edition last year due to Covid-19, the International Talent Support competition for young designers, founded by Barbara Franchin in 2002, hopes to return to a physical format. The organisers will decide its format over the coming months depending on the health and safety regulations in place at the time. The event will be held in Trieste in northeastern Italy in October and has just opened applications. The deadline for registration for the contest is set for June 24.

 
Participants will compete for various prizes including the three main awards: the OTB Award of €20,000 ($24,243); the ITS Responsible Creativity Award powered by Allianz of €10,000; and new prize, the ITS Digital Fashion Award of €5,000. In addition, Lotto will reward three different designers for work around a new sneaker development project and the ITS Fondazione Ferragamo Award will be dedicated specifically to footwear for the first time. 
 
This year, the contest has chosen “Building the Ark” as its theme, in reference to the “creative ark” highlighted over these 20 years of activity. The theme also refers to the upcoming inauguration of the ‘ITS Arcademy’ in the coming months. The “academy of creativity” will be open to the public, devoted to training, and will feature meetings and exhibitions, bringing together all of the members of the ITS family, including ex-finalists, juries, and other personalities.

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The event is also launching a new initiative for its 2021 edition. It will feature a series of seven films which will be directed by three former finalists of the competition and based on three different themes, each one supported by one of the main sponsors of the competition: ‘Family’ (OTB), ‘Heart’ (Swatch), and ‘Future’ (Allianz). For this project, the three designers will create a ready-to-wear, accessory, or other design, which will be exhibited at the ITS Arcademy and will integrate into the archives of the new institution. The videos will be showcased between May and October.