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Jul 15, 2014
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ITS 2014: Katherine Roberts-Wood wins competition for young designers

Published
Jul 15, 2014

ITS 2014 (International Talent Support), the competition that awards talent in the categories of fashion, accessories and jewelry, confirmed the dominance of British fashion schools (the Royal College of Art, the London College of Fashion, Central St. Martins College of Art and Design). This year’s event, held in Trieste on July 11 and 12, also saw the emergence of new talent from Eastern Europe, while the Asian contingent made a lackluster showing.

The final evening of ITS 2014, held in Trieste on July 12


Among the 42 finalists selected (10 for fashion, 10 for accessories, 11 for jewelry and 11 for the new Swatch-sponsored Artwork award), the UK did very well for itself, with two British winners in the fashion category and the majority of other winners trained in London schools.

Katherine Roberts-Wood, who presented a striking womenswear collection demonstrating an impressive degree of technical know-how, took home the fashion award.

The British designer, who studied medicine before turning to fashion, graduated this year from the Royal College of Art.

The collection by Katherine Roberts-Wood, winner of the ITS 'Fashion Collection of the Year' award - Photo: EP - FashionMag.com



The designer presented a very elegant collection that played with forms and displayed a futuristic touch. Her large dresses and sumptuous coats exhibited sophisticated structures - various fabrics and materials (wool, felt and jersey) held together seamlessly with invisible tabs and slots.

Science and nature strongly inspired Katherine Roberts-Wood’s work, which employed almost mathematical repetitions found in nature that together result in harmonious forms.

Overall, the collection was both conceptual and wearable, with seemingly complex structures and intriguing constructions assembled from recurring elements such as wavy pleats.

Diesel, the main sponsor of the event, attributed their award to Zoe Waters, an English designer who charmed the jury with her decomposable leather jackets that can be extended or shortened through a cleverly-arranged system of geometric overlays and zips.

Ivana Damjanovic won the ‘YKK Award' award for accessories - Photo: EP - FashionMag.com


The YKK Accessories Award was handed to the Serbian designer Ivana Damjanovic, whose geometric handmade bags were both chic and functional.

Based in Belgrade, she graduated from the University of the Arts - Faculty of Applied Arts in 2008 with a concentration in interior design. Inspired by sculpture and costume design, she designs jewelry, launching her own brand "Koishi" in 2009. Her collections are produced in Serbia, where she lives and works.

For accessories, the Japanese designer Takafumi Arai took a special prize for his amazing collection of entirely handmade shoes, some which were even made without any sewing.

First place in the jewelry category, sponsored by Swarovski, was awarded to two young women: Noriko Nakazato from Japan and Lior Shulak from Israel.

The 'Swarovski Jewelry' award winners - Photo: EP - FashionMag.com



A major international design event and springboard for new talent, ITS was founded fourteen years ago by Barbara Franchin and depends exclusively on the support of various sponsors, including Diesel, YKK, Swarovski, Swatch, Modamont, Samsung, among others.

The ITS 2014 winners
Fashion
Fashion Collection of the Year Award (€ 15,000): Katherine Roberts-Wood (Great Britain)
Diesel Award (€ 25,000 + a six-month internship at Diesel): Zoe Waters (UK)
Special Award (€ 5,000): Anita Hirlekar (Iceland)
The Italian Camera Nazionale della Moda Award (€ 2,500 + a six-month internship at Trussardi) Natalija Mencej (Slovenia)

Accessories
ITS Award (€5,000): Mirja Pitkaart (Estonia)
YKK Award (€10,000): Ivana Damjanovic (Serbia)
Special YKK Award (€ 1,000): Takafumi Arai (Japan)

Jewelry
Swarovski Award (€10,000 + a six-month internship in the company): Noriko Nakazato (Japan) + Lior Shulak (Israel)

Artwork
Swatch Award (€10,000 + paid in the course mark): Virginia Burlina (Italy)

Samsung Galaxy Award
Samsung Galaxy Award for the best accessory designed to protect and carry the Samsung GALAXY Tab S mobile phone (€ 10,000): Leonie Barth (Germany)

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