The winner of the Isko best collection award was Xiaohui Lyu, from BIFT (Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology), who also received other awards

17.07.2019.- On July 3, Isko presented the awards of the sixth edition of its I-Skool design contest at the Glashaus of the Berlin Arena. The participants had to focus on the new denim codes.

Isko is the world’s largest manufacturer of denim fabrics, with 300 million annual meters. Their collections adapt to different markets and constitute a point of reference for designers.

Awards presentation event

I-Skool, proposed by Isko

Promoted by Isko and developed by Creative Room, Isko I-Skool is a design competition that seeks excellence, in this case around the New Denim Codes. The candidates had created capsule collections using fabrics supplied by Isko itself, which were certified by Nordic Swan and EU Ecolabel. The contest had been launched in January this year at the Premium fair, also in Berlin, under the slogan New Denim Codes. Candidates had to explore a new perception of the human body and develop a valid pattern for any body shape. For the first time in the history of this contest, its first phase involved denim design professionals, as well as students who were already finishing their studies.

Componentes del jurado

On June 2, the day before the awards ceremony, the jury met to examine the styles of the 17 finalists and choose the winners.

Isko, I-Skool, denim, producción de denim, Creative Room, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology

The  creative jury was formed by:

  • Costa Francisco, former creative director of Calvin Klein and founder of the beauty brand Costa Brazil.
  • De Castro Orsola, founder and director of Fashion Revolution.
  • Falcioni Marco, head of men’s fashion design for Boss.
  • Johnson Miles, former creative director of Patagonia and Levi Strauss.
  • Kuhnl Sabine, editor of Sportswear International. Maino Sara, editor of Vogue Italia and responsible for Vogue Talents.
  • Margrander Kai, fashion director of Harper’s Bazaar Germany.
  • Rigoni Alberto, director of quality control at Replay.
  • Testino Marina, founder of Point Off View.

The technical jury, for its part, had:

  • Berto Alessio, from The Tailor Pattern Support.
  • Diacci Paolo, from Reca Group.
  • Montonati Nantas & Lucietto Otello, from Riri Group.
  • Carey Tricia, from Lenzing.
  • Carmen Santacruz, of Jeanology.

The jury based its decision on several criteria, such as the visual impact of the collections, their storytelling, responsible innovation and commercial viability. The decision was not easy because, in addition, it had to take into account the variety of corporal forms, the different social facets of which they were echoed and their mixtures of elements and materials.

Winners and their fashion schools of origin

After the presentation of awards, the winners went up to the catrwalk

The ceremony to show the 17 finalist pieces and communicate the decision of the jury was attended by Matthew Modine, one of the actors of Stranger Things, the Netflix series.

The winners were the following:

  • Best absolute collection. Xiaohui Lyu, from BIFT (Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology).
  • Best collection of young professional. Isabelle Viengxay.
  • Best model seen on the catwalk. Xiaohui Lyu, from BIFT.
  • Winner of the Riri award: Bilge Hakan Gurka Ynak, from Polimoda.
  • Winner of the Reca prize.
  • Irene de Vecchi, from the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti.
  • Special mention of Vogue Talents. Xiaohui Lyu, from BIFT.
  • Special mention of Sportswear International. Alex Luonto, from the Aalto University.

The jury also made special mention of two candidates whose collections showed a special concern for sustainability. The authors were:

  • Shirin Fakhradin Araghi, from the Akademie Mode & Design.
  • Bilge Hakan Gurkaynak, from Polimoda.

Some companies associated with Isko I-Skool offered the winners the possibility of doing internships in their facilities.

+ Info: www.iskooldenim.com