#Textiles & Apparel / Garment

2018-11-12

Inaugural adidas x Woolmark Performance Challenge winner announced

Alicia Ferreira de Sousa from L’École de la Maille de Paris was announced the winner of the inaugural adidas x Woolmark Performance Challenge, presented at a special event during Outdoor Retailer, Denver, Colorado. The Woolmark Performance Challenge is a new annual competition for tertiary students aimed at pushing the limits of product innovation and is set to kick-start the career of Alicia.

The award was judged by a highly esteemed panel of judges, including Amanda Parkes - Chief Innovation Officer, Fashion Tech Lab; Christopher Bevans - Creative Director & Owner, Dyne; Jamie Lisanti - Special Projects Editor, Sports Illustrated; Julie Davies - General Manager, Processing Innovation & Education Extension, The Woolmark Company; Kristin Hostetter - Editor in Chief, SNEWS; Louis de Vos - Talent Acquisition Manager, adidas; and Tillmann Studrucker - Senior Design Director, adidas.

Alicia was praised by the judges for her entry.

“As an aerobic gymnast, Alicia brought her knowledge of the body’s movement and combined it with science to highlight the functionality and benefits of Australian Merino wool’s properties. She found a way to bring this together with a unique and technical innovation, that is applicable to many sports,” explained Jamie Lisanti, Sports Illustrated.

Fellow judge Tillmann Studrucker commented: “It is incredible how many great innovations we saw from students in this open collaboration between adidas and The Woolmark Company. It was not easy to nominate the final winner. In the end, we went for the person who shared the number one principle of our founder Adi Dassler - ‘only the best for the athlete’ - helping them to perform better in their sport using the benefits of wool. I want to thank everyone involved in making this competition a success and for giving these students a platform to show their talent.”

Alicia Ferreira de Sousa from L’École de la Maille de Paris was announced the winner of the inaugural adidas x Woolmark Performance Challenge. (c) 2018 Woolmark

“Winning the Woolmark Performance Challenge marks the beginning of an aspiration coming true: a sportswear specialization to engage my own wellbeing and confidence in sports performance,” said Alicia. “My main goal was to make a textile that connects and communicates with the body; and Merino wool supports the wearer’s needs in any situation or environment to enhance performance.”

Alicia will now receive a cash prize of €10,000 (approx. $11,300 USD), a three-month internship with adidas, the opportunity to sell the winning idea along with ongoing industry and training support from The Woolmark Company.

More than 500 students from 58 universities across Europe and North America registered to take part in the adidas x Woolmark Performance Challenge. The 10 finalists were:

Alicia Ferreira de Sousa - L’École de la Maille de Paris - France
Christel Thue Høgsted - University of Oregon - USA
Inga Grether - Albstadt-Sigmaringen University - Germany
Jeni Allison - Heriot Watt University - UK
Lihong Lao - Cornell University, Department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design - USA
Marlies Reukers - Amsterdam Fashion Institute, HvA - Netherlands
Martin Stricker - ECAL (École Cantonale d'art de Lausanne) - Switzerland
Olivia Echols - University of Oregon - USA
Phoebe Edwards - Nottingham Trent University - UK; and
Youngmi Kim - Institut Français de la Mode - France.

Merino wool moves into China’s high-performance sportswear market

China’s leading sportswear brands are beginning to treat Merino wool not as a lifestyle material, but as a performance input as natural fibres move from the margins of sportswear into elite technical applications. That shift is increasingly evident in the material strategies of major domestic groups such as ANTA.

Messe Frankfurt commits further to East Africa: three textiles trade fairs during Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week from 2027

Messe Frankfurt and its Texpertise Network continue their steady, successful trajectory in the region. As Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week (ASFW) opened today, Member of the Executive Board Detlef Braun announced that Messe Frankfurt is licencing its three leading international trade fair brands Texworld, Apparel Sourcing and Texprocess to Nairobi, Kenya for the first time in 2027. From now on, they will take place annually as part of the Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week (ASFW) Nairobi.

“We Believe in the Value of Textiles”: Successful Opening of the KARL MAYER TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTER

KARL MAYER inaugurated its new, state-of-the-art TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTER (TIC) with a four-day opening week from April 21 to 24. The highlight of the week was the grand opening on Thursday, which drew a strong turnout from the international textile industry: around 220 customers, brands, and partners from across the textile value chain came to the company’s headquarters in Obertshausen for a first-hand look at the new high-tech development environment and lively exchange with industry peers.

Fifteen years of Autoneum – From spin off to global technology leader

What started as a strategic carve‑out has since become the success story of a global technology leader in acoustic and thermal management solutions for vehicles. Headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland, Autoneum supplies leading automobile manufacturers worldwide with innovative, lightweight and increasingly sustainable solutions.

Kruger, Canada, orders first nonwovens line for sustainable wipes from ANDRITZ

International technology group ANDRITZ has received an order from newly established Kruger Nonwovens to deliver a complete WetlaceTM hybrid line for the Wayagamack mill in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. With this investment, pulp and paper producer Kruger is preparing to enter the nonwovens market with a new generation of plastic-free, chemical-free materials for sustainable wipes. The line is the first of its kind in Canada and is scheduled to start production in 2028.

Picanol to present its leading weaving technology at ITM 2026

Picanol is pleased to announce it will be participating in ITM 2026 in Istanbul. This is a key event for industry professionals to engage with the Turkish textile industry as well as the extensive international audience attending the fair. During the event, Picanol will present its latest innovations to the visitors in Hall 8, booth 802.