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Prof. Xu Bingang’s team publishes in Advanced Materials

The effective storage of energy harvested from the environment (like sunlight, heat, and humidity) and human motion (like walking and running) is important to realise their practical applications in powering a variety of wearable electronics. However, traditional energy storage technologies are primarily designed to store energy generated from conventional sources, which are not suitable for the small amount and unstable sources of energy harvested by using flexible textile generators. To  tackle these problems, Professor Xu Bingang’s team has successfully developed hybrid capacitors and batteries that efficiently store the energy harvested from textile generators in a stable manner. To make the energy storage device wearable, his team has also made efforts to develop a series of novel wearable supercapacitor devices that range from yarn supercapacitors, 2D and 3D fabric supercapacitors, 3D nonwoven supercapacitors, to embroidered supercapacitors, which have exceptional performance and promising applications for flexible and wearable energy storage. More recently, Professor Xu Bingang and his team have made an innovative breakthrough in exploring novel materials and designs for high-performance hybrid supercapacitors to store energy. This breakthrough is based on their new scientific understanding and innovative design of highly active dual-type quantum dots (QDs) that are constructed within the interlayers of ultrathin layered double hydroxides for large energy storage systems. The expandable interlayer provides a suitable confined space for the growth and uniform dispersion of QDs, which has successfully resolved the existing challenges and difficulties in obtaining different types of and uniformly dispersed highly active QDs in a stable conductive microenvironment. With the newly developed highly active dual-type QDs, the hybrid supercapacitors have a high energy density of 329.2 μWh cm−2, capacitance retention of 99.1% and Coulomb efficiency of 96.9% after 22,000 cycles, which is superior to other reported works. This work is published in Advanced Materials, a top-tier journal in materials science with an impact factor of 29.4. The first two authors are Dr Yang Qingjun and Miss Chung King-yan, Clarie (BA, 2019), a postdoctoral fellow and a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Xu.

Emerging Hong Kong fashion talents take centre stage at PolyU Fashion Show 2024 injecting renewed vigour into the fashion industry

Hong Kong's fashion world is bursting with creativity and vitality! The much-awaited annual PolyU Fashion Show 2024, was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 5 June 2024. Organised by SFT, the Show featured 40 exceptionally talented students who captivated the audience and impressed the judges and industry professionals with a spectacular runway show. The distinctive styles, imaginative designs and modern fashion concepts of the young students look set to add powerful new momentum to the local fashion scene. This year, the Show attracted an impressive audience of nearly 1,500 in-person guests, while an extensive online audience of over 46,000 viewers from across the globe watched on YouTube, Wechat, and Weibo live streams. These numbers highlight the growing influence of the School and further emphasise its position as a pioneer in fashion education. The Show unveiled 30 remarkable new collections by fresh graduates (Class of 2024) specialising in fashion design, knitwear design, intimate apparel and activewear design from the BA (Hons) Scheme in Fashion and Textiles - the flagship SFT programme. In addition, a cohort of the outstanding graduating students from the MA in Fashion and Textile Design, further impressed the guests with 10 cutting-edge collections. SFT is recognised worldwide as a leading fashion and textiles education institution, committed to establishing a thriving creative community that cultivates students with a global perspective and encourages innovative ways of thinking, that empower young talent to flourish as outstanding designers and visionary leaders in the contemporary fashion industry. Thanks to generous support from numerous industry partners and sponsors, the Show connected the students with many influential figures from across the fashion and technology sectors, facilitated their understanding of current industry trends and helped propel them further along their career path.  Seven awards and scholarships were presented at the Show in recognition of students’ outstanding work and to encourage the talented students to pursue their dreams in fashion while embracing their academic journey at SFT. The judging panel for the Consinee Grand Award, sponsored by the event's Diamond Sponsor, Consinee Group, comprised leading fashion industry professionals including Ms Florence Tsui, Consinee Group's Marketing and Business Development Manager. In addition, four outstanding SFT alumni who served as fashion practitioners in their respective fields also joined the panel in selecting the winner. They were Ms Chan Brun (BA, 2013), founder of röyksopp gakkai, a local brand that crafts enchanting collections inspired by mushroom-infused narratives and the transformative journey of youth; Mr Derek Chan (MPhil, 2017), Design Director of DEMO, a fashion label that reimagines traditional masculinity in contemporary and gender-neutral designs; Mr Tak Lee (BA, 2014), founder of Tak L., whose design philosophy celebrates the beauty of impermanence and natural evolution; and Ms Katherine Ho (BA, 2016), Editor-in-Chief of L'OFFICIEL HONG KONG, a renowned fashion magazine from France. The HKIAIA Overall Grand Award, sponsored by the Hong Kong Intimate Apparel Industries’ Association (HKIAIA), which was the event’s Diamond Sponsor, was another highlight of the night. Ms Karen Ng, Secretary of HKIAIA, was invited to be the judge for this prestigious award. Other members of the judging panel for the other various awards and scholarships were (in alphabetical order): • Ms Janet Cheung, Vice Chairman and Project Director, Hong Kong Fashion Designers Association • Mr Stafford Lau, Founding Chairman of SFAA Foundation Limited; Director of Stella Blu Textile Limited • Ms Sherin Tang, Senior Manager - Admin and Operations, The Mills Fabrica • Ms Brenda Yang, Technical Manager, Flinders Merino Group and The Woolmark Company • Ms Dilys Yiu, Design Director, Fenix Group Holdings Limited The winner of the Consinee Grand Award was Lai Chu-yi with her outstanding work themed “Let it rot”. The collection showcases a "let it rot" lifestyle, utilising textiles, volume, and silhouettes. It captures the pressure young people face under social labels, emphasising fabric weight and recreating relaxed bed-like features for space and comfort. The HKIAIA Overall Grand Award winner was Poon Hei-man Peggy. Her exceptional collection created under the theme “Toxic Breath” embodies love as a beautiful yet painful experience, symbolising its suffocating nature and its ability to strip away freedom. Red and black dominate the collection, with red lycoris representing the sorrow within this intense love. For more photos and the playback of the Show, please visit our official social media accounts Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube!   “Emancipation” by Pang Wing-yan, Joyce, winner of the Fenix Young Talent Award “Virtual Utopia” by Lo Chi-ho Steven, winner of the Go Green Award “Let it rot” by Lai Chu-yi, winner of The The Mills Fabrica Future - Maker Award “Magic Mushroom Dreamland” by Cheung Wai-yee, winner of the Best Use of Australian Merino Wool Award “I am rooted, but I flow” by Hui Hei-yan, winner of the HKFDA Scholarship of Creativity 2024

PolyU and Beijing Union University sign MoU

We are delighted to announce a new partnership with the Beijing Union University (BUU). This collaboration aims to establish academic exchange opportunities to both institutions'  research postgraduate and undergraduate students. Today, Professor Erin Cho, Dean of SFT, and Professor Zhang Qi, Dean of College of Art at BUU, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU marks a pivotal moment in fostering a strategic cooperation and collaboration between SFT and the College of Art at BUU.

New appointments

SFT is pleased to welcome the following academic staff members who took up the full-time positions in the past 6 months: Assistant Professor Dr Yadie Yang Research Assistant Professor Dr Cheung Tin-wai Dr Minjung Cho Dr David Lyu Dr Esfandiar Pakdel Dr Alice Yao Dr Zhou Yanghong

Prof. Xu Bingang’s team develops biocompatible materials for new e-textiles

Realising flexible electronics with wear comfort and durability that are comparable to traditional textiles is one of the ultimate pursuits of smart wearables. The fabrication of e-textiles is ideally to print conductive ink onto fabric, which is a simple and inexpensive process. However, fabricating high-performance atop textiles with good dispersity, stability, biocompatibility, and wearability for high-resolution, large-scale manufactured, and practical applications has remained challenging. Recently, Prof. Xu Bingang and his team made an innovative breakthrough in the field with the development of water-based multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) -decorated liquid metal (LM) inks with a carbonaceous micro-nanostructure of gallium–indium for new e-textiles. With the use of biopolymers, the sodium alginate-encapsulated LM droplets contain high carboxyl groups which non-covalently crosslink with silk sericin-mediated MWCNTs. The new e-textiles can be subsequently prepared via a printing technique for a naturally waterproof triboelectric coating, which facilitates good flexibility, hydrophilicity, breathability, wearability, biocompatibility, conductivity, stability, and excellent versatility, without the need for any artificial chemicals. The obtained e-textiles can be used in various applications with designable patterns and circuits. Multi-sensing applications that recognise complex human movements, breathing, phonation, and pressure distribution are found with repeatable and reliable signals. Self-powered and energy-harvesting capabilities are also presented by driving electronic devices and lighting LEDs. As proof of concept, this work provides new opportunities in a scalable and sustainable way to develop novel wearable electronic textiles and smart clothing for future commercial applications. The work is published in Nano-Micro Letters which has an impact factor of 26.6. The first author is Miss Chung King-yan, Clarie (BA, 2019), a local first-class honour graduate from our BA programme. She is currently pursuing her PhD study under the supervision of Prof. Xu Bingang.

Dr Chen Shaoyu wins PolyU Innovative Researcher Award 2024

Dr Chen Shaoyu, Assistant Professor, was honoured with the PolyU Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) 2024 in recognition of her outstanding research work in tackling global challenges. The YIRA is a prestigious university-level award that recognises young faculty members under 35 years old who have demonstrated research excellence in addressing global challenges. Taking inspiration from nature, Dr Chen’s research project “Smart and Recyclable Materials from Supramolecular-Dynamic Covalent Co-Assembly of Stimuli-Responsive Amphiphiles and Biobased Polyelectrolytes” aims to create biocompatible and intelligent materials with feedback signals based on the supramolecular-dynamic covalent co-assembly of stimuli-responsive amphiphiles and biobased polyelectrolytes in ecological and recyclable approaches. The resulting materials are likely a significant step in the evolution of materials as advanced wearable sensors, smart fashion textiles, and soft robotics for daily health monitoring and early disease diagnosis, ultimately promoting human health and developing a more sustainable society.  Dr Chen’s research showcases the academic and research excellence at PolyU in meeting societal demands and creating practical solutions. Dr Chen will receive research funding support of HK$500,000, along with a personal cash prize of HK$20,000 to encourage her continuing pursuit of innovative and impactful research. SFT extends its warmest congratulations to Dr Chen for her remarkable achievement. We look forward to seeing more of her exciting research contributions and hard work.

6IXTY8IGHT X SFT | 68 Creator Award 2024

We are thrilled to announce the successful conclusion of the “68 Creator Award 2024” and its award presentation ceremony jointly organised by SFT and 6IXTY8IGHT, was held on 17 May. This competition, sponsored by the vibrant and youthful lingerie brand 6IXTY8IGHT, challenged BA students majored in Intimate Apparel and Activewear to design a capsule of lingerie items for the F/W 2024 season. The theme, “Redefine your lingerie”, inspired contestants to create four unique outfits tailored for 6IXTY8IGHT’s dynamic customers. A huge round of applause for Lai Ching-yan Nicky, who emerged as the Champion with her exquisite “Lady Ballet” collection. Nicky, with her childhood roots in ballet, envisions bringing the elegance and allure of ballet to the lingerie world. As a Gen Z innovator, she's keen on merging the girlish charm and subtle sensuality of ballet with the current balletcore fashion trend. Nicky was awarded a $3,000 6IXTY8IGHT cash coupon, and her exceptional designs will come to life in 6IXTY8IGHT stores come November 2024. Kudos also to our first runner-up, Lee Yeuk-lam Caroline, who received a $2,000 6IXTY8IGHT cash coupon, and to our second runner-up, Hung Hoi-wai, who was awarded a $1,000 6IXTY8IGHT cash coupon. Congratulations to all our winners and participants for their incredible talent and hard work. Stay tuned for more updates and the launch of the winning collection in stores!

ai-FaMeSTORE Avatar Design Contest

The ai-FaMeSTORE Avatar Design Contest award ceremony was successful concluded on 10 May. The event was marked by an impressive panel of judges, including esteemed Professor Calvin Wong from the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab), Mr Jimmy Chan, Head of Commercial, APAC of Goxip, and Ms Winnie Choy, Senior Manager of Regional E-business Projects of LVMH Fashion Group. A special note of congratulations was extended by Ms Kim Chung-ae, President of Della, who praised the exceptional talent of the participating students. “As fashion increasingly transitions to online platforms with the emergence of metaverse platforms and AI technologies, there is a growing demand for skilled digital fashion designers and content creators. In this transformative era, we firmly believe that SFT’s Avatar Design Contest has been instrumental in discovering talent in this emerging field.” Della is a Hong Kong-based luxury fashion retailer that specialises in bags, shoes, accessories and small leather goods. Professor Calvin Wong of AiDLab believes the fashion industry is undergoing significant changes and exciting opportunities in the Web 3.0 era, driven by technologies like AI, VR/AR, blockchain and the Internet of Things. “Avatars, virtual fashion, NFT fashion and their associated intellectual property are central to this transformation. By embracing virtual or NFT fashion, avatars empower individuals with and additional avenue to express their unique style in the digital realm.” Congratulations are in order for the contest winners! BA students Jim Yu-ching Natalie and Jiyeong Ko clinched the championship, while Hui Hei-yan Catherine secured second place. They were awarded cash prizes of $5,000 and $3,000, respectively. Additionally, their winning avatars will become the new faces of the ai-FaMe Store on SFT, the cutting-edge fashion NFT platform.

Professor Xu Bingang’s team has developed new textiles that can generate electricity directly from the air

Rapid technological developments have greatly reduced the size of electronics and increased their portability. The number of portable devices worldwide reached 12.2 billion in 2021, which is predicted to more than double to over 25 billion in 2025. The exorbitant number of small electronics has led to an ever-increasing demand for energy. Existing energy sources are primarily derived from unsustainable resources, such as coal, oil and natural gas, which are non-renewable and lead to global pollution. Therefore, developing renewable and sustainable types of energy is urgently needed, which is an important but challenging task. Recently, Professor Xu Bingang and his team made an innovative breakthrough in the field by developing a new type of wearable textile that can generate electricity directly from air. This development is based on their new understanding and regulation of charge transfer and ion occupation effects. The textile is capable of generating an impressive electric output (0.88 V and 37.58 µA at a size of 4 cm2) across a wide range of relative humidities (10% to 90%) and ambient temperatures (-30˚C to 50˚C), including various weather conditions such as sunny, cloudy, overcast, and rainy, regardless whether it is day or night. As a result, the scaled-up new textiles have the ability to power various wearable electronic devices, including optical fibres, luminous shoes, digital timers, high-power digital multi-sensors, and wireless locators, with a maximum work time of over 200 days. The innovative work promotes the further development of next-generation renewable energy technologies and smart wearable systems. A patent application has been filed to protect the intellectual property of this technology, and the theoretical foundations have been published in Advanced Functional Materials.

Appreciating Chinese art and culture - “Stitchable Chinese Arts” fashion design competition

Jointly organised by the Education Bureau and SFT, the “Stitchable Chinese Arts” Fashion Design Competition is open to all primary and secondary students in Hong Kong. The theme of this competition is “Modern China-Chic”. To prepare for submission, primary and secondary students participated in a series of online briefing sessions, courses on fashion design and technology, as well as design workshops, to learn how to design fashionable clothing inspired by traditional Chinese art and cultural elements, and catch a glimpse of the dynamic and ever-changing fashion industry. The participants were required to design and sketch a “T-shirt” and a “whole garment outfit”. In total, 660 and 844 artworks were received from 51 primary and 76 secondary schools, respectively. Among the submissions, 20 primary and 30 secondary students were shortlisted. With the support of SFT professors and students, these 50 finalists participated in workshops in April and May 2024 at SFT to transform their designs into real garments. On 29 August, their creations will be presented on the runway at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.