TRIESTE, Italy — Jiaen Cai, a 26-year-old student form China, has won the ITS Fashion@Work by illy Award. This prize is sponsored by illycaffè as a partner of the 2019 edition of ITS – International Talent Support, the international competition which brings young talents in fashion design to Trieste.
The competition saw 10 finalists, carefully selected by illycaffè Artistic Director Carlo Bach, experi-menting in the field of professional fashion. They were given the creative challenge of bringing their own vision to reinterpret the classic illy barista apron.
The collection of prototypes, presented for the first time at the fashion show during the ITS final, revealed a fantastic variety of aesthetics in the de-signs, which amazed everyone at the event, from fashion journalists to designers and trend experts.
The creations by the young talents in the competition ranged from minimal to hyper-technological, to sportswear and industrial cross-over, to references to couture and fine art, transforming an everyday item into a unique design object.
“In a rich kaleidoscope of creative ideas, Jiaen Cai’s project succeeded in bringing creativity and ele-gance to his original design for an apron which can be used in different ways and for different func-tions” said Carlo Bach, illycaffè Artistic Director.
The winner will receive a cash prize of 10,000 euros.
