Isko celebrated the winners of the Isko I-Skool awards, the mill’s annual fashion talent contest, with a party held at Villa Corner della Regina in Italy.
Altogether, more than 50,000 students from all over the world competed for the awards, the Denim Design Award and the Denim Marketing Award.
The design award involved 14 international fashion schools. Students were tasked to create looks for with three style moods: Renovated Denim Icons, drawing on denim’s history; Athleisure, using Isko’s latest performance denims; and Jool, a new fabric mixing denim and wool, which is particularly adaptable to couture.
The outfits were a mix of Industry-Driven Denim and Styling Denim; Industry-Driven Denim followed the industrial development pattern, from cutting and sewing to laundering, and the Styling pieces were handmade, custom designs.
The jury was headed by François Girbaud, the founder and owner of Marithé+François Girbaud, together with representatives from the awards’ partners. Key partners were Mavi, Avery Dennison RBIS and Archroma, which worked with the students throughout the process. Also involved were Ralph Lauren, Swarovski, Replay, Haikure, Tonello Laundry, C&S Garment Maker and Iskoteca. Vogue Talents, the international platform created by the magazine, also awarded a student a special mention.
The Denim Marketing Award was presented in collaboration with the Italian communication agency Menab Group, and drew from students from five international schools. Students designed a strategic marketing plan to give value to and communicate the performance and innovation of either the Jool or Athleisure categories. The president of this jury was Chantal Malingrey, the director of Denim Première Vision.
Marco Lucietti, global marketing director Sanko/Isko Division, said, “The education is the core of our project: the aim is helping these young talents to grow, letting them experience the importance not only of creativity, but also of culture and industrialization. This edition of our fashion contest has been the most global ever: we are proud of our students, grateful to all partners and simply ready to start again.”
The winners of the Isko I-Skool awards were as follows:
Winner of the Renovated Denim Icons Award: Anna Biotti (IUAV University, Italy), awarded by REPLAY
Winner of the Athleisure Award: Joona Rautiainen, (Aalto, Finland), awarded by MAVI
Winner of the Jool Award: Ester Rigato (IUAV University, Italy), awarded by Haikure
Winner of the Jool Denim Marketing Award: team led by Francesco Diomedi (Milano Fashion Institute, Italy)
Winner of the Athleisure Denim Marketing Award: led by Travis A. Rice (AMFI, Netherlands)