•  Prizewinners from Finland, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Switzerland
• Frank Dassler, General Council Adidas and member of the World Federation of Sporting Goods Industry will present the prizes together with Selma Kruimer, Vice President Tommy Hilfiger Sport Europe, Hans-Jürgen Hübner, CEO Schoeller Textiles, and Peter Knoll, Exhibition Director of ispo as well as Chairman of the Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie
• Students provided surprises with a change of direction in fashion. Clothing will no longer just stand for the longing for the beautiful, but also as protection against a world, which is perceived increasingly as aggressive

Is sport simply just in fashion or is there more behind this? The prize of the Foundation of the German Clothing Industry 2005 sought answers to this question, which was directed to Universitys and fashion schools throughout Europe for the first time. According to the articles of association, the design contest serves for promoting the education of gifted and needy designers of the next generation in the fashion industry“.

The task was to reflect changed clothing behavior under the title of “sports inspired fashion“ and to design clothing, which does justice to the emotional and functional needs of people. Interdisciplinary projects were sought that promoted conceptual working. In addition to documentation, analysis and the concept, a presentation chart and an outfit had to be submitted. Schoeller, Polartec and Pertex provided selection functional textiles for realization of the projects. These can now be purchased at www.extremtextil.de.

Higher Level of Quality
A jury composed of internationally experienced experts in design, industry, marketing, the media and the trade selected the prizewinners. The jury members were: Marcel Herrig, Unicut Design Office/IDEAS, Shenzehn/China, Helen Kilner, Design Management Berghaus, Sunderland, Ulrike Pross, Marketing The North Face, Munich, Joachim Schirrmacher, Journalist and Design Manager, Hamburg, Martin Trautmann, Shop Boarders, Munich, and Sharon Williams, Active Market Editor WGSN, London. The jury evaluated the 36 submitted Master theses and course projects from 60 stu-dents from six countries according to previously set criteria of concept, innovation, depiction, wearability and cut as well as material and color selection in extended dis-cussions and determined the contest winners.

A comparison to the previous year show that the level of the submitted works increased substantially thanks to the required conceptual work. The students convinced not only thanks to exemplary concepts, but also thanks to the generally high quality of the collections. Consequently, the jury decided to split this year’s prize money worth a total of 7,000 euros to do justice to the many outstanding works. Four prizes, two special prizes and four special mentions were awarded. The prizewinners come from Finland, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

1st prize: Irene Brühwiler, Schweizer Textilfachschule (Swiss Textile College), Switzerland – 2,250 euros and a six-month paid internship at Girbaud Actlive, Kitzbühel, Austria
1st prize: Bloodtransfer Crew, Hochschule für Gestaltung Pforzheim (Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences), Germany – 2,250 euros and a six-month paid internship at Berghaus, Sunderland, England
2nd prize: Team Hochschule Niederrhein (Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences), Germany – 1,000 euros and a six-month paid internship at Tommy Hilfiger Sport, Amsterdam
3rd prize: Giulia Monaci and Monica Bozanic, Schweizer Textilfachschule (Swiss Textile College), Switzerland – 600 euros
Special prize: Mirja Timonen and Helena Raholm, Lahti Polytechnic, Institute of Design, Finland – 450 euros and their portfolio will be presented at wgsn.com, the website of the Worth Global Style Network.
Special prize: Rosamund Ward, Liverpool John Moores University, Great Britain – 450 euros and her portfolio will be presented at wgsn.com, the website of the Worth Global Style Network.

Special mention:
Alison Atkins, Liverpool John Moores University, Great Britain
Sabine Kelle, FHTW Berlin, Germany
Satu Paukkonen, University of Art and Design Helsinki, Finland
Marie Rejfova, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Netherlands

Thanks to sponsorship by ispovision, the prizewinners are receiving numerous communications support such as a trade fair booth or the award ceremony within the framework of ispovision. As a result, they can present their work to the approximately 55,000 trade visitors at the fair and more than 2,000 international journalists.

Frank Dassler, General Council Adidas and member of the Committee of the World Federation of Sporting Goods Industry will congratulate the winners and present the prizes together with Selma Kruimer, Vice President Tommy Hilfiger Sport Europe; Hans-Jürgen Hübner, CEO Schoeller Textiles and Peter Knoll, Exhibition Director of ispo as well as Chairman CEO of the Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie. The Munich model agency Jetmodels is supporting the award ceremony. Six “New Faces“, young people from different countries the same as the prizewinners, will present the products to the pubic with professional help.

Change of Direction in Fashion
The student’s designs for women and men between 15 and 50 surprised with a change in direction. In the future, clothing should not only stand for taking pleasure in the beautiful, but also for protection against a world that is increasingly seen as aggressive. Bulky hoods protect you on the streets against weather and looks (“Desire to go“ by Irene Brühwiler, “2030“ by the Team of the Hochschule Niederrhein or “Satu“ by Satu Paukkonen). Cozy “recreationalwear“ with sex appeal instead of old tracksuits help you to relax at home (“Schlump“ by Rosamund Ward, “Spartakiada“ by Marie Rejfova). But traditions also provide support in difficult times (“Bushido“ by the Team of the Hochschule Pforzheim, “Eatnu“ by Mirja Timonen and Helena Raholm). Many collections are distinguished by an enormous build-up of tension between protection and beauty, function and comfort, technology and craftsmanship.

Sport is Part of Life
The answers to the question of whether sport is simply in fashion or is there more behind it were also very varied. Regardless of whether in evening dress or outdoor jacket, there are few pieces of clothing that are not influenced by sports. Satu Paukkonen, from the University of Art and Design Helsinki, writes: ”It is very difficult to distinguish between clothing for sports and casualwear. The styles are merging and inspiring each other.“ Sport fashion is worn at almost every occasion, regardless of whether at work or during leisure time, in a café or at the opera.

The relaxation of standards and forms has influenced current clothing behavior considerably. Sporty clothing not only expresses energy and a relaxed attitude, but it is also used as a mask. According to the students, the victory march of sports fashion also conceals the fear of losing touch with the increasing pace of everyday life. The nine students from Pforzheim worked out three themes for the change in society to informal and functional clothing: people want to communicate their identification consciously with a specific sport or a specific brand; people are looking for functional advantages such as ergonomic cuts or wind-resistant materials; or people are attracted unconsciously by the formal or functional aspects of sport fashion.

A Highly Developed Sense of Aesthetics
Many innovations and fashion trends of the past years are based on the development of newer materials. They make it possible for everyday clothing to be comfortable and function: breathable, moisture-transporting, windtight, water-resistant, thermally insulating, durable and easy to care for. These functions often result in the development of an independent sense of aesthetics. As a result, clothing can find favor far re-moved from sports. Especially self-confident and active women do not want to look like a sack of potatoes, even if “baggy“ is a must in the scene. In addition to comfort and function, they also want elegance and style, according to several of the works. The students at the Fachhochschule Niederrhein concluded: “Jeans were the first to make the jump from workclothes into the everyday picture of the world of fashion. In the future, sporty, function clothing will become an essential feature of everyday life.“

Additional Contests
European fashion and design schools, which would like to present works with the framework of ispovision from July 3 to 5, can submit entries with a project and a pres-entation concept for exhibition area until May 17, 2005. A jury will select the participants and determine the booth sizes. The prize of the Stiftung der Deutschen
Bekleidungsindustrie 2006 will be awarded in the early summer. Additional information is available at: www.stiftung-bekleidungsindustrie.de

Press contact:

Stefanie Gerhardt
Messe München GmbH 
Marketing and Communication 
gerhardt@messe-muenchen.de 
Tel.: (+49 89) 949 20 610 

Joachim Schirrmacher
German Apparel Industry Foundation
Member of the Foundation Advisory Board
mail@joachim-schirrmacher.de
Tel.: (+49 40) 25 31 88 60

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