We’ve just gone through one of the highlights of the ITS solar year. Cuddled by the magical, welcoming atmosphere of Portopiccolo Sistiana the Jury viewed the fashion, accessories and jewellery projects presented by the young designers who applied for the 16th edition of International Talent Support.
Carlo Giordanetti, Creative Director Swatch International, focused on the most artistic-oriented ones to select the ITS Artwork finalists who will be challenged with a purely artistic brief, the result of which will be showcased with a dedicated exhibition.
It took a week of hard, dedicated work and we deeply thank each and every one of our jurors for their amazing commitment in coming up with the finalists who will fly to Trieste, Italy, on 27 June 2018.
Thanking the over 900 young talents who applied from 80 countries. – mostly students or recent graduates of 150 schools in 72 nations – is the first thing I wish to do. ITS exists because of them, I have the deepest respect for their efforts and for 16 years I have humbly stepped in their portfolios striving to understand as much as I could to properly support them in front of the Jury.
Students in their final year often do not have completed outfits to show. Recently graduated ones instead generally present full-blown lookbooks. It may sound like an unbalanced situation, but I would like to stress the fact that the jury has taken particular care in understanding all of the projects regardless of their completion. In some cases, we went for a leap of faith based on the quality of the idea and of the presentation, even if we had no chance to see the final outfits or pieces. The ITS CREATIVE ARCHIVE, our protected reserve for talent with over 17,000 portfolios, 220 outfits, 120 accessories, 80 jewellery pieces and over 700 photography projects – will in any case protect and preserve all of the physical portfolios we received, an invaluable resource allowing a conversation between design, industry and innovation.
My deepest thank you goes of course to the jurors who accepted our call and committed to the task. To the ITS Team who I will never thank enough and to our friends who help and support us. To our partners and sponsors who allowed us to believe in our dream and turn it into reality.
Finally, I declare my love to Trieste. My hometown has provided a breathtakingly beautiful setting for 16 years and never fails to fascinate our guests. More importantly, the invaluable support of the local institutions is fundamental in allowing ITS to grow and establish itself.
Barbara Franchin – ITS Founder & Director
We are thrilled to reveal the names of the boldest young designers out there and cannot wait for the end of June to welcome their creativity and showcase it in front of the international press, the opinion leaders, the insiders, headhunters and jurors who will gather for the sixteenth edition of ITS:
Fashion Finalists
Eda Sriprom – Thailand
Di Gao – China
Po-Chieh Chiu – Taiwan
Caroline Hu – China
Filippo Soffiati – Italy
Tolu Coker – United Kingdom
Sini-Pilvi Kiilunen – Finland
Seiran Tsuno – Japan
Eleanor McDonald – United Kingdom
Emma Chopova & Laura Lowena – USA / United Kingdom
Accessories & Jewellery Finalists
Melita Rus – Lithuania
Maya Schossberger-Armoza – Israel
Catalina Albertini – Argentina
Laura Olivella – Colombia
Kira Goodey – Australia
Eliana Zurlo – Italy
Yeonghyeon Kim – South Korea
Wujic Jo – South Korea
Abigail Wirth & Mátyás Meichl – Hungary
Jil Jander – Luxembourg
Tingting Zhang – China
Artwork Finalists
Or Eidelman – Israel
Tolu Coker – United Kingdom
Wujic Jo – South Korean
Vicktoria Matsuka – Russia
Veronika Fabian – Hungary
Le Roni Sachelaridi – Paraguay
ManiMekala Fuller – United Kingdom
Sini-Pilvi Kiilunen – Finland
We always ask the jurors to comment briefly on the projects they examined. Here are their opinions on this year’s creativity:
A beautiful jury. Each one of them was so different from the other, and I have learned a lot from their different points of view. The new trends we found were very interesting on a personal level, as well as for my job and to understand contemporary fashion. ITS always gives me a glimpse of creativity.
Simone Marchetti – Fashion Editor La Repubblica
The quality of the projects we examined has brought all elements of creativity to the extreme. The fashion world has a tremendous debt with young talents: it is of the utmost importance for us to understand what they are trying to tell us through their work. The present-day world is underlined, taken to the limit and finally hidden. The projects were often creative products with a very personal, intimate point of view. ITS is this, and all of this is in ITS.
Riccardo Vannetti – Tutorship Director PITTI Immagine
Refreshing, intriguing, stimulating and sometimes disturbing. The ITS 2018 selection did challenge the jury, driving endless debate and passionate comments. A unique experience and responsibility, and I was honoured to be part of it.
Stefano Martinetto – CEO of Tomorrow London Holdings Ltd
A constructive vision of the new generation. Always inspiring and challenging to see so many talented creatives that show us their point of view and teach us to see new ideas with different eyes. This is the beauty of ITS.
Sara Maino – Deputy Editor in Chief Vogue Italia, Head of Vogue Talents
For once I am left with a weird sensation of incompleteness. Despite the usual high levels of creativity witnessed in the projects, I missed that “love at first sight” effect which I wished I would have for one of them. Perhaps it’s just me getting old!
Valentina Maggi – Director of Design Practice at Floriane de St. Pierre et Associés
This edition of ITS will look particularly rich with ideas that resonate the current times. It is always interesting and stimulating to witness how young creatives react to what is happening in the world, and ITS is an ideal observatory for this. The effect is always uplifting.
Angelo Flaccavento – Independent Fashion Critic and Curator
An exciting melting pot of cross-cultural energies. A new attention to details in an effort to celebrate craftsmanship while embracing monumental proportions. The lightness of transparency and translucency opening a door to a future of renewed innocence.
Carlo Giordanetti – Creative Director Swatch International