The winners of the Chinese Real Leather. Stay Different. Student Design Competition were celebrated on 7 July at glittering awards ceremony in Xinji.
Jingtian Luo, and Liwei Cao of the Northeast Electric Power University were awarded Gold for their creation “Fantasy Diary 1”.
The awards ceremony, attended by more than 300 guests, was complemented by a fashion show and product demonstration, featuring the designs the students had made from leather.
Guests included representatives from local government, the tanning and leather industries, the fashion industry and the media, as well as students and educators from participating schools. VIP guests included Xiankun Wang, Party Secretary of Xinji , Jun Tian, Mayor of Xinji, and Yuzhong Li, Chairman of CLIA.
The competition attracted more than 800 entries from 23 universities, building on the success of similar competitions running in Italy, the United Kingdom and Taiwan region.
“Real Leather. Stay Different.” is a campaign launched by the Leather and Hide Council of America (LHCA) that celebrates all that is great about leather – sustainability, versatility, durability and beauty. The competition was organised by LHCA in partnership with China Leather Industry Association (CLIA).
A judging panel consisting of renowned Chinese designers and leather experts determined the winners for gold, silver and bronze places in the garment category.
Runners up were Silver Winner Yinzhu Jiang and Yangyang Hua of the Zhejiang Textile & Fashion College with “The Clouds are Towering” and Bronze Winner Keke Ma of Suzhou Art & Design Technology Institute with “Deep Valley”.
Local sponsors of the competition included: People’s government of Xinji, Zibo Dahuanjiu Polygrace Tannery Group, and Xinye Leather Technology Co., Ltd.
Yuzhong Li, Chairman of CLIA said at the award ceremony: “Leather is the dominant natural fabric used in this competition, which inspires the new generation of young designers’ love for leather, helps them understand the unique properties of leather, and reflects the sustainability of leather with creativity and design. The international competition also provides a platform for Chinese student designers and overseas designers to exchange their design ideas.”
Stephen Sothmann, President of Leather and Hide Council of America said: “It was unfortunate that I was not able to attend the awards ceremony in person due to travel restrictions related to the pandemic. However, I am strongly encouraged by the creativity and passion for leather the Chinese students demonstrated in our “Real Leather. Stay Different.” student design competition. We hope more students and young designers continue to use leather to promote its beauty, versatility and sustainability”.
Competition winners received trophy and certificates from LHCA and CLIA, cash awards sponsored by CLIA and in-country sponsors. The overall winner will also feature in Rollacoaster Magazine’s A/W issue and in the RLSD coffee table book, sponsored by LHCA.
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