European Contest
Award of the Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie 2007
(German Apparel Industry Foundation)

The European contest is organized by the Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie (German Apparel Industry Foundation). The foundation was founded by the fashion entrepreneur Klaus Steilmann in 1977. The goal of the foundation is pioneering promotion of the next generation.

Task: The Fine Art of Travelling
“The Fine Art of Travelling” is the topic of the Award of the Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie 2007. Regardless of whether business trip or sports vacation, first class or economy, we are looking for travel fashion that meets the multifaceted demands of travellers.

Travelling experienced its first highlight at the beginning of the 20th century. Train, ships, cars and plans were sufficiently reliable and comfortable for the first time. But it was a luxury, which only few could afford. Baggage and wardrobes were correspondingly extravagant and elegant. The fine art of travelling was created.
Times have changed, but scorchingly hot downtowns and undercooled conference rooms as well as beaches and ski slopes are putting very different demands on our clothing. Regardless of whether a business trip or an active vacation, days often include long travel routes, business or sightseeing dates as well as active recreation. From a desk onto a touring bike and then quickly pull something out of your baggage to go to an elegant restaurant. Clothing should be stylish, easy to combine, comfortable, wrinkle-free, easy to care for as well as protect you against all kinds of weather. The permitted hand baggage in planes also requires intelligent reduction with light clothes and slight baggage dimensions. Stimulating ideas come from new artificial and natural fabrics with special threads, fabrics and equipping processes.


1st Part: Analysis
The first part of the work to be submitted should be your own analysis of one travelling mode. You may select any segment (business or luxury trip, sport or city vacation, etc.), genre and gender.
After an overview of the origin, history and current situation, the analysis should focus on the clothing requirements. Supplementary accessories are possible!
The analysis results must be document and supplemented by the entrants’ own observations and photographs. The independent analyses should be supported by appropriate publications such as market studies, books or articles.

2nd Part: Concept
The concept of the design on the topic “The Fine Art of Travelling” should be based on the analysis. The designs must fulfil high demands, i.e., be original and harmonious while geared to the market at the same time (which does not mean following trends).
A design should not be developed primarily for the shape and character of a product, but instead with a view to its possible use and utilizability.
Consequently, the concept requires planning of and reflection on social, economic, cultural and political processes as well as the consideration of ecologic and technical data to design the product successfully in a meaningful way.
Integration of product development, communication and distribution are required for that. In other words, it is a question of strategic design management.

3rd Part: Design
Based on this solid concept, the third part of the work should express the results in a collection with at least four outfits. One outfit should be submitted for jury evaluation. Prize winners obligate themselves to produce and submit the other outfits by January 31, 2007 at the latest. The complete collection will be exhibited. Entrants can chose whether they design womenswear, menswear or complete collections, although this is also dependent on the analysis. The design can be for any season.


Special Award Fashion Branding
The tasks of fashion designers have changed completely since the foundation was founded in 1977. In addition to the design of products that does justice to target groups, the shaping of identities has been added. Because there is no special training for this in colleges, the foundation would like to point the way for this and create consciousness for brands and brand identities. Therefore, it is awarding a Special Award Fashion Branding prized in collaboration with Interbrand Zintzmeyer & Lux. The world’s leading brand consulting company Interbrand belongs to Omnicom Group, one of the largest communication groups of the world.

Task
The Special Award Fashion Branding will be awarded for succinct and well thought-out brand worlds, which were developed on the basis of a brand personality. The task is to develop a brand presence for a (fictive) fashion label to be created. The submitted works must be in relation to the topic “The Fine Art of Travelling”. The brand presence should be formulated and presented both conceptually and visually in harmony with the product. Interdisciplinary projects are welcomed and recommended such as between fashion students and business communication or fashion and communication design.

Although fashion creates identity and identity is considered the competitive strategy of the future, there has been surprisingly little thought given to how fashion designers can shape these identities strategically, let alone solidly based knowledge about this. One of the reasons is certainly that reconciling the issues is complicated. It is not only a question of building a bridge between the continual changes in fashion and the necessary communication of brands, but also the duality of fashion itself between attempts to fit in and the need to be different, individualism and membership in a group.

1st Part: Analysis
The analysis should be elaborated in analogy to the invitation to enter the contest and as far as possible in connection with a project on the topic “The Fine Art of Travelling”.

2nd Part: Concept
Elaboration of a brand personality on the basis of a model of brand personality common in publications (Häusler, J./Zintzmeyer, J. Identitätsentwicklung als Konzept, Prozess und Arbeit in: Birkigt K. Stadler, M.M. Funk, H.J. (Editor) Corporate Identity: Grundlagen, Funktionen, Fallbeispiele, p. 513 – 524, Redline Wirtschaft, Munich 2002), Aaker, D. A.: Managing Brand Equity – Capitalizing on the value of a brand name, Campus Verlag, 1991, Meffert, H., Burmann, C., Koers, M. (Hrsg.)Markenmanagement – Identitätsorientierte Markenführung und praktische Umsetzung, Gabler-Verlag, 2. Aufl., Wiesbaden 2005.
Also refer to: www.interbrand.ch under Publications section). The developed concept should be well thought out strategically and displayed in a well-grounded manner.

• Positioning of the brand in the existing competitive environment
• Positioning of the new brand

The starting point is either contest entry on the topic of “The Fine Art of Travelling” (collaborative project) or your own product concept (you need not submit your own outfit in this case).

As an aid, the German Apparel Industry Foundation conducted a corresponding workshop in the summer 2006, the results of which will be presented at the website
www.stiftung-bekleidungsindustrie.de starting in September.

3rd Part: Design
The brand personality should be presented visually as a sketch in the sense of a market experience and in harmony with the concept.
In addition to depiction of the target group, the following aspects should be visualized:

• Brand world (e.g., logo, claim, typography, colours, materials)
• Pictures (fashion photography)
• Shop layout
• Communication concept (ads, advertising message)

The results must be presented as a “mood board”.


Special Prize for Luggage
In the beginning, there was the chest. Served as a storage for all your belongings and could be used for transporting things if required. A lot of bags and suitcases have been designed in the meantime, but we are still searching for the perfect piece of luggage: small and light as the sack of an itinerant journeyman carpenter and spacious as a wardrobe trunk.
How do I manage to go on a week’s business trip and still only fly with one piece of hand-luggage, as this was the goal of the fashion entrepreneur Klaus Steilmann, the founder of this foundation? How can I travel with a sensitive evening dress and what are the requirements for luggage for a bike tour across frozen Lake Baikal? How can I pack my heavy and clumsy hiking boots together with my dinner jacket? Where can I store the electronic gadgets of modern life such as a cell phone, MP3 player, camera, PDA and notebook with all the battery chargers and power packs? How can I still find room for the things I just cannot do without like my soft toys or my own pillow? And where will I put my raingear and some refreshments? By the way, what is the best travel style for whom: minimal in ultra-light style, or traditional separation into the three components of handbag, hand luggage and large piece of luggage, which is checked in?
In other words, do you need lots of suitcases and bags, or is there a module, which can be combined to create one piece of luggage in line with all your needs? If yes, which is the better concept: to provide the perfect high-tech solution for every occasion, or is a low-tech solutions better, which adapts to many different situations? Is the future customized luggage, i.e. bags, which can be produced according to individual needs as the arty travel necessities at the beginning of the 1920s?
Can these requirements be met with separate designs, or is an overall concept of clothing and baggage needed? And what effects do the increasing regulations of airline companies have (security, size and weight)?
Collaboration with a fashion project is possible, for instance, by coordinating clothing and baggage. Such entries will then be judged in the Fashion and Luggage category.

Task
1st Part: Analysis
The analysis should be worked out in relation to the topic “The Fine Art of Traveling”. You should especially investigate personal solutions of travelers in the selected travel style and genre.

2nd Part: Concept
The concept of the design on the topic “The Fine Art of Traveling” should be based on the analysis. The designs must fulfill high demands, i.e., be original and harmonious while geared to the market at the same time (which does not mean following trends).
A design should not only be developed for the shape and character of a product, but also with a view to its possible use and utilizability. Consequently, the concept requires planning of and reflection on social, economic, cultural and political processes as well as the consideration of ecologic and technical data to design the product successfully in a meaningful way. Integration of product development, communication and distribution are required for that. In other words, it is a question of strategic design management.

3rd Part: Design
Based on this solid concept, the third part of the work should express the results in a single piece of baggage or a series.


You can obtain help procuring materials in the online shop www.extremtexil.de
(also in English), where links and references about producing baggage are listed.
You should submit sketches, technical drawings and a prototype.


Participants
The competition is directed at talented design students from all design disciplines, particularly from textile and fashion design. Students from the 4th semester upwards and currently registered at a European University or Fashion School are eligible for entry. Students from the first four semesters can also participate in groups involving students in different stages of their studies.
The project work should be carried out specifically for this competition. Projects can be submitted by individuals - or even better - by interdisciplinary teams and/or cooperative efforts with a company. Also acceptable are intermediate diploma or graduated projects (Diploma/Certificate, BA or MA) if they comply with the Briefing and are carried out during 2005. The submitted projects should not have been previously publicised.
Works by students of business and communication sciences can also be submitted for the Special Award Fashion Branding. However, these students must have a partner from the area of studies of design for the visualization.

Jury
The jury are of internationally experienced experts in design, industry, marketing, the media and the trade. They will select the winners in accordance with defined criteria. The decision of the jury cannot be contested in a court of law.

Members of the jury 2007 are:
Susanne Fischer, Marketing Manager Central Europe, Timberland
Marcel Herrig, Unicut Design Office/IDEAS
Albert Kriemler, Designer, Akris
Christoph Marti, Creative Director, Interbrand Zintzmeyer & Lux
Joachim Schirrmacher, Chief Editor, Style in Progress
Joyce Thornton, Generation Now Editor, WGSN
Josef Voelk, Retailer, The Corner Berlin
Timm Fenton, Vice President Design, Tumi


Judging Criteria
The jury will examine all projects on the topic „The Fine Art of Travelling“ according to the following criteria:

• Overall concept (analysis, strategy, interdisciplinary character)
• Innovation/vision (link of local and global, technology impulses)
• Quality of the presentation and the finishing of the garments (drawing quality, workmanship, fit, colour concept, material selection)
• Area of application, functionality, practical value

The works for the Special Award Fashion Branding will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Overall concept (analysis, strategy, interdisciplinary character)
• Conception (uniqueness, potential for differentiation)
• Relevance with respect to product and industry
• Brand suitability for the future
• Possibility to realize in actual practice
• Strictness and consistency of realization from concept to design
• Interplay between product and brand
• Innovation/vision

The works for the Special Prize for Luggage will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Overall concept (analysis, strategy, interdisciplinary character)
• Innovation/vision (link of local and global, technology impulses)
• Quality of the presentation and the finishing of the garments (drawing quality, workmanship, fit, colour concept, material selection)
• Area of application, functionality, practical value

Prizes
The total prize money for the Award of the Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie 2007 amounts to 7,000 Euros.
1. Prize: 4,000 Euro
2. Prize: 2,000 Euro
3. Prize: 1,000 Euro

Akris (St. Gallen), Roxy/Quiksilver and Mover Sportswear SA (Lausanne) additionally award six month contracts for paid internships (at least 550 Euro/month).

Swiss Textiles offers 10 fabrics vouchers (worth 750 Euro each) as an additional benefit. They are valid until March 2008 and can be converted on the last day of Premier Vision in Paris at the partner companies.

The total prize money for the Special Award Fashion Branding amounts to 3,500 Euros.
1. Prize: 1,500 Euro and a six month contract for an internship at one location of Interbrand Zintzmeyer & Lux (Zurich, Cologne, Munich, Hamburg)
2. Prize: 1,500 Euro
3. Prize: 500 Euro

The total prize money for the Special Prize for Luggage amounts to 3,500 Euros.
1. Prize: 2.000 Euro
2. Prize: 1.000 Euro
3. Prize: 500 Euro

Tumi additionally awards a six month contract for a paid internship (at least 550 Euro/month) in their headquarter, New Jersey/New York.

The jury is free to divide up the prize money in a different way. Furthermore, the jury is also free to award additional “Honourable Mentions”, connected with a award of at least 500 Euro prize money, and Freitag bags F 12 (can be selected in Freitag Webshop EU).

Decisions of the jury are final.
Thanks to sponsorship by ispo, the winners will enjoy additional communications support:

• Booth/exhibition space
• Award ceremony, press conference
• Integration into the ispo communications media (daily news, magazine, newsletter)
• Publication on the Internet, including a presentation on the award website as
  well as a link to the winner’s own website (if one exists)
• Press release
• Presentation on the media database of ispo

In this way the winners will present their work to approximately 60,000 trade visitors and over 2,000 international journalists at ispo.

Award Ceremony and Exhibition
The award ceremony takes place at ispovison from February 4-7, 2007.

The winners pay their own travel costs and any other expenses personally. A flat rate will be paid for overnight stays in the amount of 150 euros for single persons and 300 euros for groups. Applicants agree to appear in person at the award ceremony in Munich in the event of winning a prize. The exact date will be communicated in time.


Competition Contribution

The Fine Art of Travelling
The work to be submitted for the Award of the Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie 2007 on the topic “The Fine Art of Travelling” is divided into three parts:
• Documentation of the analysis and the concept
• Presentation Chart
• Outfits

Documentation of the analysis and the concept
a) Summary (3,500 characters/500 words) in English. This must be sent to mail@stiftung-bekleidungsindustrie.de by December 21st, 2006. A printout of the summary must be sent by mail. Please note that the e-mail may have a maximum size of 500KB (Word or PDF-document).
b) Analysis documentation and the resulting design concept typed in English. This must contain a list of worked materials with precise information about articles and manufacturers.
Length: 10 to 30 pages of text; maximum of 20 pages of illustrations, technical drawings, material and color concept, maximum 10 pages of photographs.
Format: DIN A4 (210 mm x 297 mm)


Presentation Chart
Design concept presentation using illustrations, technical drawings, colour and fabric concept. Format: 1 cardboard A3 horizontal (420 mm x 297 mm)

Outfit
One outfit must be submitted for the jury meeting.
The garments presented must be German sizes: women 38 or M, men 52 or L. These sizes are mandatory.

Size 38 Size 52
Breast 88 cm 104 cm
Waist 70 cm 92 cm
Hip 94,5 cm 112 cm
Body height 168 cm 180 cm
Side length 106 cm 106 cm

The materials used must be documented (manufacturer and precise article name, including information such as second hand, etc.)
In the case of a prize, the additional outfits of the collection must arrive in Munich by the 31st of January 2007 at the latest for preparation of the award ceremony. A CD with three songs (files in format mp3 or wma only!) should also be sent for the presentation during the award ceremony.

Pictures are required for fittings (including during jury meeting), which should show exactly how the models should put on and wear the outfits. When there are complicated designs or ones that are not totally clear, putting on the clothes must be documented step by step (front/back, right/left, wrapping techniques, etc.)

Special Award Fashion Branding
The works to be submitted for the Special Award Fashion Branding are divided into two parts:
• Documentation of the analysis and the concept
• Mood board


Documentation of the analysis and the concept
a) Summary (3,500 characters/500 words) in English. This must be sent to mail@stiftung-bekleidungsindustrie.de by December 21st, 2006. A printout of the summary must be sent by mail. Please note that the e-mail may have a maximum size of 500KB (Word or PDF-document).
b) Analysis documentation and the resulting design concept typed in English.
Length: 20 pages of text; maximum of 10 pages of illustrations.
Format: DIN A4 (210 mm x 297 mm)

Mood board
Format: cardboard A1 horizontal (840 mm x 600 mm). To be sent in rolled.


Special Prize for Luggage
The work to be submitted for the Special Prize for Luggage is divided into three parts:
• Documentation and analysis of the concept
• Presentation chart
• Prototype

Documentation and analysis of the concept
a) Project sketch of (3,500 characters/500 words) in German and English. This must be sent in advance to mail@stiftung-bekleidungsindustrie.de by December 21, 2006 as well as with the presentation as a printout.
b) Documentation of the research and the resultant concept in German or English. This must contain a list of worked materials with precise information about articles and manufacturers.
Scope: 10 to 30 pages of text; maximum of 20 pages of illustrations, technical drawings, material and color concept, maximum 10 pages of photographs.
Format: DIN A4 (210 mm x 297 mm)

Presentation chart
Presentation of the design, for example, based on the inspiration source/assumption and using illustrations, technical drawings, material and color concept
Format: 1 cardboard DIN A3 landscape (420 mm x 297 mm)

Prototype
One prototype on a scale of 1:1 should be submitted for jury evaluation. Due to the difficult production of prototypes, the following submissions are possible:
• Characteristic detail in 3D. Laymen should also be able to comprehend the model (exhibition). Detailed models must be supplemented by comprehensive diagrams.
• Illustrative model. For instance, textiles can be arranged on hard base material. If no original material or colors can be used, they must be clearly communicated in the documentation and/or presentation chart.
A second model can be submitted for luggage-interiors. However, please note for illustrative models that they must be sufficiently durable to remain intact during transport, judging and possible exhibition (i.e., no sensitive foam models).

Photos or sketches are required for complex designs for the jury evaluation, which clearly show the precise special feature of the piece of baggage (use, operation of special closures or belt systems, attachment of sports equipment, volume changes according to use, interior design, etc.).

You can obtain help procuring materials in the online shop www.extremtexil.de (also in English), where links and references about producing baggage are contained.


Participants will be assigned a number after the binding registration. Each individual part must contain this number on the reverse side (the inside for clothing).
Digital submissions are not permitted except for the summary.

Participation is denied if documentation is incomplete. Hand-written texts are not accepted. The winners’ documents will be published (in excerpts), exhibited and used for media purposes. Therefore, they must be submitted in corresponding high quality.



Competition Conditions
Costs, Transportation and Insurance
The participation in the competition is free of charge.
All documents/garments must be carefully packed by the participant; the packaging material must be suitable for return transportation.
Participants cover all costs for sending all competition documentation/garments and insurance for delivery. Unpaid deliveries cannot be accepted.
The Foundation assumes the cost of return delivery of the submitted projects as well as insurance coverage while these are in their possession and for return transportation.
After the jury meeting, works which have not been selected for the exhibition, the archive, or for communications purposes (e.g. further exhibitions, media purposes) will be returned.
In connection with this, the Foundation reserves the right to use the selected projects for a maximum of six months.

Archive of the Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie
Selected documentation and portfolios remain in the archive of the Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie. All garments will be returned.

Rights
All rights to ownership and authorship must lye with the participant. All submitted garments will remain property of the participant. Selected documentation becomes property of the archive of the Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie.
The copyright and right of use belong to the participant at all times.
The foundation reserves all publishing rights for the duration of the competition as well as for publication purposes, which are directly connected to the competition (such as the exhibition, media purposes or other events).

In case a team wins the internship, it will be assigned by lot. The internship includes the common probation period of 14 days. The date and the employment contract will be arranged directly by the winner and the company. If the internship is aborted, the right for a payment of the remaining allowance is excluded. The Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie cannot guarantee that the internships promised by the companies take place. However, it will take advantage of all means at its disposal to find answers to open questions and a satisfactory solution for all those involved.

The participant agrees to these conditions by signing the application form.