ITS#FIVE FINALISTS: The many names of creativity
April 25, 2006
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About 200 cups of coffee & tea, a dozen EVErs freaking out very professionally (that's when inside you're going nuts checking for everything to work out perfect, while from the outside nobody notices a thing...) a few boxes of chocolate biscuits and assorted pastries, lots of orange juice and fresh water, a great number of cigarettes and 7 jury members having lots of conversation on more than 800 portfolios (between fashion and accessories), which passed from hand to hand to be viewed & evaluated. This is a very very essential summary, but maybe it can give you a taste of what Preselections are: two very busy and concentrated days!
Being inside that room, while the jurors look at the portfolios and go through all of the portfolios, is a very interesting experience: the expressions on their faces that change depending on what they see or touch....the hands that feel the fabric samples, the eyes that study the photos and sketches, even the noses, smelling the paper to try and catch scents of the students or of the place they live in...anything that can give information is attentively searched and analised to be sure of the final decision. |
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It is very sad though when portfolios don't include all the requested material or are difficult to read and understand. The jury can do nothing but reject them: if they can't see photos of the collection or of previous work, if the material inside is not easy to read or all messed up, it becomes very difficult for them to understand the project. Sometimes they see incredible illustrations by people who do not put one single photo in their portfolio to prove how they work, their technical ability and if they are able to translate in reality what they draw. It looks as though too often the young creatives forget that if they want to show what they are capable of, they have to do it in a clear and complete way. When we ask you for all of those things in the enrollment regulations, it's not because we want to make things difficult for you or discourage you, it's the exact contrary!! It's because we know that if you don't organise your portfolio in a clear and complete way, the jurors will just be forced to reject your projects, since they are not able to fully understand it. Too often we open portfolios and see glimpses of what might be an amazing project, and then they are rejected simply because there are no photos at all...when you express your creativity you have to express it in a clear and complete way if you want other people to judge it! After two days of intensive work, of portfolio viewing and re-viewing (just to be sure....), of phrases like "I want this one, no excuses!" or "...but this one is better than that one!" and "can I have a look at it again please?" the jury finally decided on 22 fashion finalists and 12 accessories finalists. At the same time, the Photo Jury members were going through the photo projects arrived. With the ITS#FASHION and ITS#ACCESSORIES finalists already decided, everyone in the office was waiting to know what the Photo Jury would have decided. On Monday 24 April, the waiting was over, and the 6 photo finalists decided. So, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me as well as for the ITS staff to introduce you to the ITS#FIVE GENERATION!!! |
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They will be in Trieste this July competing for the prizes, presenting their work to more than a 100 journalists from the international press, to talent scouts, opinion leaders....it's not only the prizes at ITS, there's loads of opportunities to make contacts, find internships, work experiences...all things we work hard on during the year. This is why we like to say that all of the finalists are winners! |
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As I'm writing, our School & Contestants department (aka: Rachel and Soraya) is calling the finalists one by one to let them know they have been selected. 22 fashion finalists, 12 accessories finalists, 6 photo finalists. 40 new members of the ITS family. Anyway, we do not want to forget all of those who enrolled but did not make it to the finals. You can find a complete list of those who enrolled in ITS#FIVE HERE . I leave you to a few comments by members of the jury and press at the preselections. A good way to give you another perspective of what the fashion portfolios were like this year: Maria Luisa Poumaillou ITS is about energy and dedication...ITS is about Barbara and the unfailing motivation she shares with her team...ITS is about Diesel and Renzo, the coolest support ! ITS is also about Trieste, the beautiful piazza and delicious prosecco, the endless fashion discussions and the wonderful encounters. ITS makes one feel seriously involved and is a fantastic opportunity to enlarge our vision Elisa Palomino The collections were overall more commercial than the previous years; shapes were more contained as well as fabric manipulation, embroideries, prints ecc... The student collections seem to repeat the actual trend in the international catwalks...safe collections,quite commercial, not so much of a show. Kei Kagami It was generally a good high standard. However I wanted to see something more conceptual and creative; and in the same time it was a shame that I could not see collections based on haute-couture very much; I really want to support talents which oppose creation, originality and sophistication rather than present trends; another thing I would like to say is that I wish if students would get interested in accessories as well. But after all,it is still a great opportunity for them to express themselves and I hope that this event could be more appreciated in the future, Many thanks to Barbara and her staff. Jerome Hanower Not talking especially about the finalists of this edition but generaly speaking about the trends in enrolled portfolio, it seems that students propose less conceptual collections than previously. Their purpose is more focused on fashion. We did not see as much big feelings about life, death, war... as we saw for example in ITS#FOUR competitors portfolios. They wonder about shapes, colours, creativity. To make it clear it seems that the big question is the place of mankind in fashion but not the place of mankind in the world. Even the work about skulls wich was seen a lot this season was more a graphic purpose than a philosophical one. This general trend seems to be the same than what we saw the past two or three seasons in big fashion capitals. One other important point is that more and more the work of students goes in a same direction. Internet, TV and specialized press create some kind of universal feeling about fashion. Of course people from India or Japan are also influenced by their own culture but we are starting to see global influences coming out. They quote the same magazines, they refer to the same brands and designers, they wish to have the same person in the jury... It is also important to notice that this sort of uniformized fashion culture and inspiration are not influenced by USA as it is generally in all the industries that involve both creativity and economy. It is much more about syncretism. Japanese people are studying in Paris, Indonesians are studying in Antwerpen... And people in India or Israel are aware of what is going on in London or New York. Barbara Franchin and all the staff of the festival will detail better than me the opportunies given to the student from all around the world to meet the professionals (brands, press, production...). They can precisely say which former competitor is now working at Viktor and Rolf, Galliano, Marras... Better than anyone they can tell how much those opportunies are shared on both parts: it is as much important for the brands and the press to meet the student than for the students to meet the brands and press. Those connections, as far as I know, are happening nowhere else than in Trieste. But for the statistics and proofs, I'm not the one to ask. What I can tell is a story that in my view illustrates very clearly the general mood that makes the things happen in ITS. Two years ago, Hilary Alexander, very serious and respected fashion journalist was member of the jury. With her very professional eye and hear she listened consciensously to the finalists and watched attentively the collections. She voted. And later on this night, with her strict suit and her dry glasses, probably thinking of what she will write in her conservative english newspaper, she was hip-hop dancing with the balloons of a competitor's collection in the middle of the dance floor. That is the point: being different and sharing things |
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