European Fashion Award – FASH 2011

Attention Please!?

“Look – at – me!” Celebrities seek attention at almost any price by flaunting their blingbling. At the same time the Yellow Press’ “Selling over Stars” engendered a quota-oriented style dictatorship. It is very clear: glamour is in fashion.

In the old days anyone who wanted to be taken seriously acted reserved and respectable. These days the “Economy of Attention” increasingly dominates the fashion image. Charisma turned into commerce. Everything screams: buy me! The questions remain: What is beautiful? What makes people look god? What is the impact of fashion today? Is it about identity or status? Is it about sales, attention, or beauty? Are there any dreams and visions left? Does elegant simplicity or quiet grandeur have any significance? Can beauty provide comfort? The European Fashion Award – FASH 2011 is looking for answers to these questions under the title “Attention Please!?”.

Phase 1: Analysis

The first phase of the entry encompasses an independent analysis of today’s relationship with fashion. This means the student’s own point of view – whether in the streets or in the closet at home. The analysis results shall be documented and supplemented by the student’s own photographs. Media such as blogs or fashion magazines are not permissible.
Only in the second step will the student further corroborate his or her analysis by researching the appropriate publications such as market studies, books, articles or essays. In addition, the student shall define ‘fashion’ in his or her own words.

Part 2: Concept

The concept on the topic “Attention Please!?” is to be based on the analysis. The jury is looking for independent and consistent designs. They can be close to current market trends, yet should offer more than just a representation of the latest trends. To accomplish this, the student needs to reflect social and economic, as well as cultural and political processes.

Phase 3: Design

Based on this established concept the third phase of the competition includes the conversion of the results into a collection with a minimum of five outfits. Two complete outfits need to be submitted to the jury evaluation. The student may freely choose the segment (e.g. business, leisure or athletic apparel). Accompanying accessories are permitted. The participant may also select between womenswear, menswear, or complete collections, depending on the results of his/her analysis. There is no restriction as to seasonal apparel.

Participants

The competition targets especially talented design students from all sectors of design, in particular from the segments of textile and fashion design. Students attending a European university or fashion institute in their 4th semester or later are eligible to enter.
Students from outside of Europe are also permitted to enter the competition. However, there are special guidelines, which will be provided upon request.
Eligible entries include designs by individuals, or, as particularly welcomed by the organizers, by inter-disciplinary teams, and/or cooperations with companies.
Undergraduate and graduate or bachelor and master projects are also eligible, provided their subject conforms to the tasks set in this competition, and they were compiled in the year 2010. Projects that are entered should not have been published yet anywhere else.
 

Jury

A jury consisting of international experts from the sectors of design, industry, retail, communication, and the media will select the award winners according to predetermined criteria. The decision of the jury is final, and there is no legal recourse.

Members of the 2011 jury:

Marcel Herrig, Unicut Design Limited, Shenzhen, China
Torsten Hochstetter, Creative Director Adidas Sport Style (Originals, Y3, SLVR, Porsche Design, Style
Essentials), Herzogenaurach
Marion Feldmann, Divison Head Womens Fashion, Otto, Hamburg
Ivonne Fehn, Fashion Director, Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazine, Munich
Joachim Schirrmacher, Büro für strategische Kommunikation (Agency for Strategic Communications), Hamburg
Dorothee Schumacher, Founder and General Manager Schumacher, Mannheim

Selectation Criteria

The European Fashion Award FASH 2011 includes a category each for Students and for Graduates. All entered projects appropriately addressing the subject “Attention Please!?” will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Overall Concept (analysis, strategy, comprehension and implementation of the subject, target group, interdisciplinary character)
Innovation/Vision
Technical and Design Implementation (material selection, sketch quality, presentation, workmanship, fit, colour concept)
Range of Use, Functionality

Prizes

Following are the prizes awarded to the winners of the European Fashion Award FASH 2011:

• -Photo shoot by Gregor Hohenberg, Editorial Photographer for Vogue, Elle, GQ, AD, etc., Berlin
• -Print catalogue with high-quality graphics
• -Professional media services
• -Extensive communications services by ispo
• -Salaried, six-month internships (min. 550 Euro/month) at Adidas Sport Style (Herzogenaurach) and Schumacher (Mannheim)
• -Association with the SDBI network, as well as mentoring by SDBI project management
• -Prize purse totalling 5,000 Euro (1st Prize: 2,500 Euro / 2nd Prize: 1,500 Euro / 3rd Prize: 1,000 Euro)

In addition, the jury may elect to award special mention prizes for additional projects, at 500 Euro each.

Furthermore, the jury may elect to honour projects by including their documentation and presentation charts in the permanent archive of the SDBI foundation.

The overall value of all awards and prizes is more than 80,000 Euro.

Communications Services

Thanks to the support by ispo all winners will benefit from these additional communications services:

• -Generously sized exhibition of award-winning designs at a special SDBI booth in a premier, centrally located area at ispo 2011
• -Award ceremony/press conference
• -Integration into ispo communication channels
• -Online publication, including presentation on the award website, as well as link to winner’s website (if applicable)
• -Press releases to more than 2,000 international journalists
• -Presentation to ispo’s media database

With the help of these services award winners will have the opportunity to present themselves to more than 60,000 trade show visitors and over 2,000 international journalists at ispo 11.

As of December 15th, 2010, all participants may register for complimentary access to the award ceremony and ispo 11, by contacting: visit.ispo@sdbi.de

 

Call for entries & entry form

Here you can download the complete call for entries and the entry form as pdf.

Important Dates

Entry Deadline (attached entry form required): September 21st, 2010

Submission Deadline (completed entry forms including two outfits and digital concept outline): October 14th, 2010. (Note: this is NOT the date of postmark – the materials have to be received in Munich at the latest by this date. For entries from non-EU countries, such as Switzerland, please calculate extra time for delays such as customs processing e.g. duty)

Jury Meeting: end of October 2010

Participants will be notified of the results in November.

Photo Shoot: mid-November, in Berlin

Award Presentation: February 6th, 2011, Noon, during ispo 11

Required attendance of award winners in Munich: February 5th, 10.00 am to February 9th, 7.00 pm

Exhibition: at ispo 11 from February 6th to 9th, 2011

Project Enrtry Description

An entry for the European Fashion Award FASH 2011 on the topic “Attention Please!?”, is divided into three parts:

Documentation of analysis and concept
Presentation chart
2 outfits

Documentation of Analysis and Concept
a) Short outline: one (!) page (3,500 characters/500 words) without photos/illustrations in English. This needs to be emailed by October 14th, 2010 to mail@sdbi.de (.rtf or .pdf, maximum size: 500KB), as well as attached in print to the presentation.
In the upper right hand corner, enter the participant number (no names!) in font size 20 pts.
Use the following file name: add the participant number to FASH11, for example: 14FASH11.rtf or 14FASH11.pdf

b) Documentation of research (incl. source list) and the resulting concept in English. Size: 10 to 30 pages text; maximum 20 pages of illustrations, technical sketches, material and colour concept; up to 10 pages of photos.
Format: DIN A4 (210 mm x 297 mm)

Presentation Chart
Presentation of the design with the help of illustrations, technical sketches, material and colour concept on one (!) poster board.
Format: poster board DIN A3 landscape (420 mm x 297 mm)

Please mail your presentation chart and documentation in a sturdy A3 folder to ensure that materials will be protected (mail processing, jury meeting, project management).
Documentation and presentation chart are to be submitted in a form appropriate for an international competition (A4 sheets in clear plastic folders are not appropriate). The deciding factor is not an outward, expensive impression of professionalism, but a clear indication of the student’s potential.

Each piece of apparel and every part of the documentation requires needs to be clearly marked with the participant number, to be provided after entry. If any item is not marked accordingly, SDBI reserves the right to use a permanent marker to do so. Any potential damage caused by marking the item is the sole responsibility of the contestant.

Outfits
The contestant may choose two finished outfits to be submitted to the jury.
Sizes: Ladies 36 or S, Men 52 or L. These sizes are mandatory (to ensure that they can be displayed on models or mannequins)!

Size 36 Size 52
Chest measurement 84 cm 104 cm
Waist measurement 66 cm 92 cm
Hip measurement 94 cm 112 cm
Side length 106 cm 106 cm

The jury is aware that the entered fashion designs are not industrially finished pieces but prototypes. The jury is also aware of the difficulty to obtain the appropriate materials. Therefore the jury will look favourably upon materials indicating the desired selection (e.g. with the help of experimentation with different finishes created by the student).
The material use is to be documented (manufacturer, and if available, detailed item description, certification, or otherwise details on the source such as second-hand, type of fabric, etc.).

In order to ensure proper fitting during the jury meeting the contestant must submit photos to describe how the outfit is to be worn by the model. In the case of complicated or ambiguous designs the student is required to submit step-by-step instructions on how to don the outfit (front/back, right/left, wrapping techniques, etc.).