PolyU holds Hong Kong’s first event on design-led technology for social good

The Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) held today the "Designing Future Techstyle" International Symposium and "Techstyle for Social Good International Competition 2019" at The Mills. Endorsed by two world design academies, Royal College of Art in London and Tsinghua University in Beijing, the Symposium was packed with world-renowned speakers from cutting-edge international design brands, world-class luxury group and sportswear brands. This was the first-of-its-kind event to promote a new design approach - techstyle (i.e. intersection of technology and style) - in Hong Kong.

In collaboration with The Mills Fabrica, the innovation arm of The Mills, and with the sponsorship of the Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Symposium aims at creating awareness of new design approaches to techstyle, and highlighting the industry's needs to work collaboratively across disciplines as technology and consumer demands evolve. The vision of the collaboration is to discover distinguished designs that integrate technology and modern style and explore "techstyle for social good" projects. Through this partnership, the hosting organisations also want to promote sustainability in techstyle industry, and to support the young entrepreneurs who aspire to develop in this area.

The opening ceremony was officiated by the Hon. Felix CHUNG, Legislative Council Member; Ms Jersey YUEN, Assistant Head, CreateHK; Dr Miranda LOU, Executive Vice President of PolyU; Ms Vanessa CHEUNG, Founder of The Mills and Managing Director of Nan Fung Development Ltd; and Prof. FAN Jin-tu, Head and Chair Professor, ITC, PolyU.

Addressing at the ceremony, Dr Miranda LOU said, "Hong Kong, as a creative capital, strives to play a leading role in encouraging design-led technological innovations for social good. Fashion now concerns more than addressing apparels and wearables, but fostering change to fashion products and systems towards sustainability and a higher sense of social responsibility. Recognised as one of the region's best schools in textiles and clothing, PolyU will continue to be the hub for nurturing talents and cutting edge research in fashion, textiles and design in Hong Kong, and in the region."

On behalf of CreateHK, Ms Jersey YUEN expressed her gratitude to the ITC for successfully organising the event to promote design-led technology for social good.

Featuring keynote talks and a discussion forum with international renowned academics and experts in techstyle, the Symposium provided local creative communities, design students and the general public a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas and get international, interdisciplinary design perspectives particularly for creating social impact.

Prof. Naren BARFIELD, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Provost of Royal College of Art, stressed in his presentation the significant contribution of techstyle and talked about useful innovations that are impacting our lives. Ms Christianna WINCEK, Flyknit Innovation Material Design Director of Nike, shared her insights in the process of designing of sports shoes. Ms Francesca ROSELLA, Co-founder of CuteCircuit, discussed the synergy of design and technology, and the new dimensions for human experience. Well known for her viral colour-changing hair dye, Ms Lauren BOWKER, Founder of THEUNSEEN, presented newly-created, self-activating beauty products that change colour in response to heat, wind and UV light, and discussed their implications on natural beauty.

The Project also included the "Techstyle for Social Good International Competition 2019" which awarded the winners with cash prizes, residencies at The Mills Fabrica and opportunities to further explore the potential of their projects. Prototypes of shortlisted participants were showcased at the venue to demonstrate their design-led technology innovations for social good. Further information is available on the internet (https://www.polyu.edu.hk/itc/dft2019/index.html).

Group photo of the Officiating Guests, speakers of the Symposium, and adjudicators of the International Competition: (Front, from 4th from left) Ms Vanessa CHEUNG, Founder, The Mills and Managing Director, Nan Fung Development Ltd; Ms Jersey YUEN, Assistant Head, CreateHK; The Hon. Felix CHUNG, Member, the Legislative Council; Dr Miranda LOU, Executive Vice President, PolyU; Prof. Naren BARFIELD, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Provost, Royal College of Art.

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