#Textiles & Apparel / Garment

2021-10-07

Ruwanthi Pavithra Gajadeera is the winner of the First Prize of 2021 Taiwan Fashion Design Award

The finals selection show of “2021 Taiwan Fashion Design Award” (TFDA) has been successfully concluded at Warehouse No. 4 in Songshan Cultural and Creative Park on October 6th. Among nearly 450 designers from 18 countries and regions including Europe, America and Asia, Ruwanthi Pavithra Gajadeera from Sri Lanka became the winner of the first prize was for his/her work “kæli–A Sustainable Collection”, and won a prize worth US$10,000.

Yeh, Yu-Hsien and Chen, Ching-Lin won the second prize worth US$5,000 for their respective works “Mirage” and “Where have all flowers gone”. Tung, Li-Rung, Lee, Claire and Lai, Ming Hao each received the third prize worth US$ 3,000 for best use of fabrics, best pattern making and best market potential, respectively. The contest among the shortlisted of this year was the most competitive one due to their hearts full enthusiasm.

The Government-Private Bussiness Cooperation Creating an International Fashion Platform for Emerging Designers

First organized by Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (IDB) and co-organized by Taiwan Textile Federation in 1987, TFDA was promoted to be an international contest in 2013 and has attracted the attention and participation of personnel from many overseas fashion schools. The contest this year has got a great response among emerging designers from all over the world, making the contest even more competitive and internationally. Over the past 35 years, Taiwanese government has provided students of design schools and emerging designers with a platform to demonstrate their creativity. Not only has the government invested in long-term talent cultivation programs, but private sectors have also been offering great support. We hereby would like to express our greatest gratitude to the sponsorship by Lealea Enterprise Co., Ltd., Li Peng Enterprise Co., Ltd., Coddy Global LTD., and Fortune Industrial and Commercial Development Foundation, etc., who jointly provide a total prize worth US$35,000.

The Physical and Online Fashion Show that Overcome the Threats of the Epidemic, Along with the Debut at the Static Fashion Show

Taiwan’s strict anti-epidemic measures eventually enabled 2021 TFDA to be held as scheduled. The preparation process of the event faces more challenges than those in the past. In addition to the inability of foreign finalists to travel to Taiwan, it would be also difficult to allow viewers to come to the ceremony in person as in the past. Therefore, in addition to physical fashion show, the online live broadcast of the ceremony was synchronous execution. The international jury from the UK, France, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan also connected with each other online in a real-time manner, and the online scoring system also allowed the smooth selection and decision-making by the jury for the finals. The members of the jury were composed of renowned masters of the international fashion fields, which included Nao Takekoshi, the international boutique designer; Stephane Dou, the Taiwan fashion designer; Christina Dean, the founder of Redress; Valéria Bessolo Llopiz, ELLE International Director; Jane Singer, Managing Director of Inside Fashion; Tomonori Matsui, CEO of the Japanese fashion integration marketing company ONE O Ltd.; and Charlotte Chiang, Director of TTF’s Textiles and Fashion Design Department.

The jury recognized that each work has its own unique creativity from design thinking, noting that “Whether it is fashionable, elegant, or street fashion, the designers were able to consider the concepts of environmental-friendliness and sustainability from the very beginning of the process of designing, such as using clearance tabs to demonstrate the design creativity. As for the production processes, the all-in-one approach was adopted to reduce waste during the weaving, and for the clothing, the mix and match outfit in a multi-way manner was deeply and thoroughly explored, which presented the profound thinking from human relations to caring for the environment that reflected the spirit of sustainability at all stages of production of clothing.”

In conjunction with Taipei Fashion Week series organized by Ministry of Culture, all works of the finalists of 2021 TFDA will continue to be displayed at Warehouse No. 3 of Songshan Cultural and Creative Park until October 11. Please visit these wonderful works at a close range for the delicated details and materials!

Winners of 2021 Taiwan Fashion Design Award:

First Prize

Gajadeera, Ruwanthi Pavithra "kæ?li–A Sustainable Collection"

Second Prize

Yeh, Yu-Hsien "Mirage"

Chen, Ching-Lin "Where have all flowers gone"

Third prize – Best Use of Fabrics

Tung, Li-Rung "Adler in the morning"

Third prize – Best Pattern Making

Lee, Claire "Living Structure"

Third prize – Best Market Potential

Lai, ming Hao "Evolutionary realm"

(Coordinated with national bilingual policy.)

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