Emerging designer competition ITS postpones 2020 edition to October

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
May 8, 2020

The International Talent Support (ITS) emerging designer competition, like many other events, has been forced to postpone its 2020 edition due to the uncertainty and travel difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The event was originally scheduled for July 17. ITS, set up in 2002 by Barbara Franchin, will instead be held in Trieste, Italy, on October 23, right after the end of the annual Fashion, Photography and Accessories Festival at Hyères, France.

Jean-Pierre Blanc, the founder and organiser of the Hyères Festival, whose 34th edition was planned for April, announced in March that the festival is postponed to October. He didn’t give an exact date, though he indicated the event would be held after the Paris Fashion Week and before the International Contemporary Art Fair (FIAC), which is scheduled on October 22-25 in the French capital.

This year, ITS has received over 600 applications from 60 countries. The jury selected 36 emerging designers from 16 countries, 11 of them in the competition’s fashion category and 12 for jewellery and accessories. China is the country with most finalists, seven, followed by the UK, South Korea and Japan. ITS 2020 also features three other prizes: ITS Fashion@work by Illy, ITS Artwork by Swatch Art Peace Hotel and the Lotto Sport prize.

“All of this, which means continuity and security for us, takes on new meaning and new value today. The cooperation and support of our local community and partners, as well as the extraordinary resilience demonstrated by the talented designers who chose to take part in the 2020 edition, and by the ITS team, have a more profound meaning and impact on our project and on each one of us in the present circumstances,” said Franchin in a press release.
  
The 18th edition of ITS chose “responsible creativity” as its theme, adopting the slogan ‘Here we belong’. The event relies on the support of main sponsors like OTB, Swatch, Italian coffee maker Illy, Lotto and Allianz Italy.