ITS Contest announces winners of its 2022 edition

British menswear designer Charlie Constantinou, from Central Saint Martins’ MA Fashion Class of 2022, has been named the ITS Arcademy Award winner at this year’s ITS Contest in Trieste, Italy.

As winner of the ITS Arcademy Award, Constantinou will receive 15,000 euros and a six-month mentorship by Pitti Immagine Tutoring and Consulting Direction. The international jury said that the British emerging designer was a “clear winner” and impressed them with his “highly creative, versatile and innovative” collection.

Constantinou was inspired by extreme weather conditions, adaptability, functionality, and how Inuit tribes native to Alaska and Canada adapted to such harsh conditions. He presented trousers, accessories and knitwear, which the jury added were all “consistently executed and highly desirable” with a “strong sense of colour”.

The Central Saint Martins graduate was also awarded second place in the ITS Sportswear Award, scooping a 2,000-euro prize. For the award, Italian brand Lotto Sport challenged three finalists with a sneaker project. The winner was Chinese designer Hin Fung Jesse Lee, who twisted Lotto’s B.Stars sneakers and the shoe box with his zero waste cut-out technique, with British designer Edward Mendoza awarded third place.

ITS Contest celebrates 20th edition in Trieste

There was also a win for British jewellery designer Ruby Mellish, who was awarded the ITS Special Mention powdered by Luxottica award. Mellish impressed the jury with her transparent acetate pieces aimed at the selfie generation to take home 3,000 euros.

The prestigious OTB Award, presented by the fashion group to a fashion, accessories or jewellery finalist, was won by Belgian designer Lili Schreiber for her “sunny, colourful, sophisticated, and upcycled,” collection. Schreiber wins 10,000 euros.

Other winners included Ukrainian designer Dmytro Hontarenko who received the 2022 ITS Fondazione Ferragamo Award for his reworked footwear collection. The jury said that Hontarenko had “combined research, craftsmanship and attention to sustainability in his project, embracing the challenges of our present time not as obstacles but as incentives, with the spirit of the true creative, like Salvatore Ferragamo”. Hontarenko wins 5,000 euros and the opportunity of an internship in Salvatore Ferragamo’s creative department.

The ITS Media Award was presented to Mata Durikovic from Slovakia for her “inventive home-made techniques,” that used starch bioplastics as the fabric in the collection. Durikovic wins 8,000 euros. While the ITS Responsible Creativity Award, worth 5,000 euros, was won by French accessories designer Victor Salinier.

Japanese duo Yudai and Anna Tanaka scooped the ITS Artwork Award for their “interactive, engaging and fun” wearable toys artwork to win 10,000 euros. Chinese designers Xiaoling Jin and Zongbo Jiang were presented with the ITS Digital Fashion Award. While Eva Heugenhauser from Austria won the ITS Special Mention powered by Vogue Italia award and Italian Lucia Chain received the ITS Video Presentation Award.