Yishu Yan runner-up at International Youth Designer Competition

ITC is pleased to announce that PhD student Yishu Yan received 2^nd runner-up at The 6^th International Youth Designer Competition (国际青年设计师邀请赛), which was held at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (BIFT) on 20 October 2019. The competition theme, ‘Culture Integration’, attracted over 150 submissions from 15 countries, of which 34 finalists were shortlisted to showcase their works and compete for three awards.

Yishu’s womenwear collection is called "Aqualoop", which remixes elements of water and colourful knitted yarns in two key directions. One focuses on providing a sense of fluidity, irregularity, and transparency, while the other highlights the attractive colours of underwater life. The colour palette consists of bright tones with shiny edges, such as fiery red, scuba blue, solar golden yellow and bright white. The unique three-dimensional knitted fabrics which are both high in flexibility and inimitable in texture are specially designed and knitted. The shape-shifting silhouettes of the collection rely on the characteristics of the developed fabric which forfeits the need for any further cutting. This collection is based on Yishu's Ph.D. research work on digital knitting.

The competition was the kick-off event for the celebratory activities of the 60^th Anniversary of the BIFT. The panel of judges consisted of renowned academics and designers, including:

• Anthony Bednall, Associate Head of Manchester Fashion Institute of the Manchester Metropolitan University
• Liu Wei, renowned fashion designer
• Liu Yuanfeng, Vice President of China Fashion Association
• Anne Smith, former Dean of Academic Programmes for Fashion; Jewellery and Textiles; Product, Ceramic and Industrial Design and Spatial Practices of Central Saint Martins and Distinguished Professor of BIFT
• Wang Yutao, renowned fashion designer
• Yang Jie, Vice President of School of Fashion and Engineering at BIFT