The 40 finalists for ITS (International Talent Support) 2014, Europe's largest fashion contest, have been selected.
While many Japanese applicants have won in the past, this year's contest saw a record eight finalists advance to the finals. The breakdown is one in the fashion category, two in the accessories category, five in the artwork category, and two in the jewelry category, with one selected in two categories.
ITS is held annually in July in Trieste, Italy. Since its launch in 2002, it has produced many designers who have gone on to work for top fashion houses. In recent years, it has also become recognized as a stepping stone for new designers.
This year's contest title is "LUCID DREAMS," which means lucid dreaming in Japanese. The theme is the world between dream and wakefulness.
Submissions are open in four categories: fashion, accessories, jewelry, and the newly added artwork category. Selected from over 1,200 applicants from approximately 80 countries, 40 finalists from 20 countries will compete in a final presentation and show-style collection on July 11th and 12th.
The judges include Diesel artistic director Nicola Formichetti, Marni designer Consuelo Castiglioni, photographer Nick Knight, shoe designer Nicholas Kirkwood, Indian designer Manish Arora, and fashion blogger Susie Bablu.
Diesel, which has supported ITS since its inception, has established the "Diesel Prize" in the fashion category, offering the winner a 25,000 euro prize and a six-month internship with the Diesel creative team.
The Japanese finalists are as follows: The winners were Yasuto Kimura in the fashion category, Takafumi Arai and Maiko Takeda in the accessories category, Ryota Murakami, Chiaki Murakami, Noriko Nakazato, Shinji Tokuno and Takafumi Arai in the artwork category, and Noriko Nakazato and Junko Kurihara in the jewelry category.
Maiko Takeda in the accessories category is a hat designer who studied at the Royal College of Art. During the 2014-15 AW Paris Fashion Week, she held a solo exhibition at the gallery "JOYCE" in the Palais Royal. She has also produced a collaborative bag for the 2014-15 AW collection with "LAMARCK".
