The Taiwan Fashion Design Award is welcoming international designers for the first time this year to broaden its platform, the Taiwan Textile Federation said yesterday.
Hosted by the Industrial Development Bureau, the competition, now in its 27th year, will have more than 450 young fashion designers from seven countries compete in the preliminary round on July 18.
Federation secretary-general Justin Huang (黃偉基) said opening the field to international competition would showcase Taiwan’s strength in design and provide a platform for young fashion designers around the world.
This year’s competition has attracted young designers from China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Canada, Swaziland and Hong Kong, Huang said, but because international designers are being allowed for the first time, Taiwanese contestants still account for 56 percent of the total.
Another 27 percent are from China, Huang said, a sign that Chinese fashion designers are developing overseas.
The theme of this year’s competition is “rethinking.” It encourages designers to consider that amid doomsday scenarios, “people have begun to slow down and rethink things around them, taking a positive attitude to enjoy the art of living and contemplating the boundaries of technology and nature,” its official Web site said.
Young graduates from fashion design colleges or seniors still studying fashion can submit collections for autumn/winter next year. Fifteen finalists will be chosen to participate in a runway show during the Taipei IN Style exhibition on Oct. 17.
The 15 finalists will receive cash awards, with US$10,000 going to the winner, US$5,000 for each of the two second-place finishers and US$3,000 for each of the three third-place designers.
The other nine finalists will receive US$1,000 each. In addition, winners will be given priority for recommendation and assistance for participation in reputable international fashion design competitions.
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