News

Establishment of School of Fashion and Textiles

With the University’s approval of ITC to be upgraded to School of Fashion and Textiles effective from 1 July 2022, it realizes the aspiration of ITC community for over two decades. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your staunch support in the past and look forward to our continued joint effort in uplifting ITC to become a world-renowned school in fashion, textiles and design education, research and partnership for the benefit of Hong Kong, the Nation and beyond.  

Applied Physics Reviews publishes article by Prof. Zijian Zheng

ITC congratulates Prof. Zijian Zheng, Professor of ITC, who recently published a journal review article entitled “Au-Coated Carbon Fabric as Janus Current Collector for Dendrite-free Flexible Lithium Metal Anode and Battery” in Applied Physics Reviews (IF: 19.162). Flexible and wearable electronics span a range of cutting-edge applications, from roll-up displays and implantable medical devices to smart communications and the Internet of Things. Such applications require high energy density power sources, and lithium-metal batteries are among the most promising due to their high theoretical capacity, light weight, and cost efficiency. However, lithium dendrites at the top of the fabric anode increase the risk of separator piercing and, therefore, cause a high possibility of short circuits, especially when undergoing large mechanical deformation. To ensure the safe application of the flexible lithium metal batteries, Prof. Zheng and his colleagues proposed to incorporate a 3D Janus current collector by a simple modification of the bottom side of carbon fabric (CC) with a lithiophilic gold layer in the paper. The result is a highly flexible, stable and safe lithium metal anode. This mitigates the issue of uncontrolled dendrite growth in flexible lithium batteries, effectively reducing the risk of short circuits and fire hazards, which represents an important impact on the future development of high energy density and flexible lithium metal batteries. Dongdong Li, Yuan Gao, Chuan Xie, Zijian Zheng. Au-coated carbon fabric as Janus current collector for dendrite-free flexible lithium metal anode and battery. Applied Physics Reviews 2022, 9 (1) , 011424. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0083830

Prof. Lilly Li receives Silver Award at Special Edition 2022 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days

ITC is pleased to announce that Prof. Lilly Li, Professor of ITC, is the recipient of the Silver Award at the Special Edition 2022 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days for her research project titled ‘A Method For A Green Yarn-Spun Structure With Moisture Wicking And Fast-Drying Effects’. Partnering with The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel Limited (HKRITA), Prof. Lilly Li and her team have developed an environmentally-friendly yarn structure-based technology to improve moisture wicking, and fast-drying functionalities, good dimensional stability and sufficient strength without using chemical additives. This technology can overcome the drawbacks of both synthetic and natural fibres. By deploying physical-based coaxial and counter-rotating yarn wrapping technology, it improves moisture management effects to reduce negative impacts caused by the exposure to chemical pollutants with no extra chemicals. In addition, this technology encourages the use of natural fibres in a proportion greater than 80% and decreases the utilisation of chemical-based synthetic or manmade fibres. It can be directly applied to the secondary upcycling of stock yarns, giving the yarn a “second life”. Congratulations to Prof. Li!  

Vivienne Tam Scholars Scheme

ITC establishes the “Vivienne Tam Scholars Scheme”, aims to broaden the knowledge of contemporary design practice of our fashion/knitwear design students in ITC through extracurricular design projects supervised by PolyU alumni and renowned fashion designer: Vivienne Tam. The students will be recognised as “Vivienne Tam Scholars” and will receive a prize of HK$10,000 each from ITC after their successful completion of the design project under Ms Vivienne Tam’s direction.  Four final year fashion/knitwear design students were selected to work on design projects under Ms Vivienne Tam’s direction. They are: Chan Pui-yi Chan Tai-che, Viva Lauryn Fiona Yip Hiu-ching, Jasmine

Angel Jump to Victory: Wong Hiu-ying Angel

The Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 has just ended, not long after the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. Hong Kong athletes have shown remarkable achievements at both Olympic Games. Aside from the Olympics, Hong Kong athletes continue their winning streak and among them is ITC alumna Ms Wong Hiu-ying Angel (BA, 2010) who won a bronze medal for the balance beam event at the 14th Taishan Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Doha, Qatar on 5 March 2022. She is the first athlete on the Hong Kong team who is a medal winner at this level of international competition. Blood, sweat and tears of a star athlete Angel has been involved with gymnastics since she was 4 years old. At first, it was just for fun, and little Angel never thought that she would be an athlete until she turned 11 years old and returned from Australia to Hong Kong . She continued her training in a gymnastics class with the Hong Kong Gymnastics Federation and was chosen as a member of the Hong Kong team. After joining the Hong Kong team, training took up most of Angel’s time. Every day, she trained hard after school for four hours until 8:30 p.m. This training regime showed her passion and dedication for gymnastics. First Hong Kong gymnast to qualify for the Olympics No one in Hong Kong has ever been shortlisted for the Olympics gymnastics competition until the London Olympics in 2012, when Mr Shek Wai-hung and Angel were chosen to participate in the games. The London Olympics was definitely a breakthrough for Hong Kong gymnastics. Not only were there two Hong Kong athletes performing on the gymnastics stage for the first time, but Angel even labeled her jump and became the first Hong Kong athlete in the history of gymnastics to receive such naming rights. “I haven’t seen anyone tried this 'Angel Jump' in any official competition yet, only some video clips on Instagram that show others practicing the move,” Angel said. Missed Rio Olympics due to injury One of the worst fears of athletes is to sustain an injury, especially before a major competition. When Angel was busy practicing in 2015 for Olympic Games Rio 2016, she severely injured her left knee, which affected several ligaments of her knee joint. She had to undergo two operations and required a long period of recovery which forced her miss the games. Even though she is not as young as the other athletes and had been injured multiple times, she was still very determined to stay on the team. In 2019, she returned to the World Cup Competition. Starting all over again and succeeding At the age of 34, Angel described standing on the award podium as one of the important moments in her life, especially after several surgeries. “After many injuries and surgeries, the long recovery process has been full of struggles. The epidemic also affects training and competition since some of the team members have tested positive. Anyway, I just want everyone to finish the games safely.” Angel also said that the medal is proof of her abilities, which has also motivated her to continue to improve her performance. She hopes to compete in the Asian Games again in September this year. Applying knowledge learnt from ITC Aside from gymnastics, Angel is also a talented designer. An ITC graduate, she majored in fashion and textile design. She then applied the knowledge into designing and constructing  her costume for the London Olympics.   Photo credit: Angel's Instagram page and The Gymnastics Association of Hong Kong, China

Fashion X AI Fashion Show 2022

[ITC supported activity] Fashion X AI 2022: Call For Young Fashion Talents is looking for local fashion graduates and students to join us on our innovation journey. We will be selecting 8 young fashion talents to showcase their works at the Fashion x AI Fashion Show at M+ in December 2022. 8 selected talents will be mentored by leading fashion designers to create innovative designs using a cutting-edge Hong Kong developed AI design system (AIDF) with full technical and production fee support. Fashion innovators who would like to push the boundaries of their creativity by synergising Fashion and AI are welcome to join. Learn more. Enquiries: AIxFASHION@aidlab.hk 

Dr Jeongyeon Lee publishes in highly impactful journals

Dr Jeongyeon Lee, Research Assistant Professor of ITC and his collaborative teams recently published two journal review articles entitled “Chemical modification of ordered/disordered carbon nanostructures for metal hosts and electrocatalysts of lithium-air batteries” in InfoMat (IF: 25.405) and “Nanostructured Transition Metal Nitrides as Emerging Electrocatalysts for Water Electrolysis: Status and Challenges” in EnergyChem (expected IF > 25). In the first paper, Dr Lee and his colleagues comprehensively review the recent progress in designs of carbon nanostructures for application in metal hosts, and as protective layers or bifunctional electrocatalysts of lithium-air batteries. The correlation among the crystalline, electronic, porous, and chemical structures and the electrochemical properties of carbon nanomaterials are discussed depending on their classification and characteristics. The rational methodology and future directions of various chemical modifications are also discussed, such as morphological control, hierarchical architecturing, heteroatom incorporation, and the formation of composites, for enhancing the electrochemical performance of anodes and cathodes. In the second paper, Dr Lee and his colleagues review the representative progress of transition metal nitride (TMN)-based catalysts in the synthetic strategies of both structural engineering and electronic engineering to improve electrocatalytic performance, especially in hydrogen and oxygen evolution and water splitting. This review article discusses the future challenges and research directions of nanostructured TMNs in the electrochemical energy fields for efficient preparation processes and performance enhancement. In terms of real applications, continuous research and breakthroughs are essential for developing nanostructured TMN-based catalysts for advanced water electrolysis, which can improve the quality of life. Dr Lee has been recently selected as Guest Associate Editor for the Frontiers in Chemistry journal. He has extensively published research articles in various journals that are related to energy storage and conversion applications during the past 3 years, including Advanced Energy Materials in 2020 (1 paper), Advanced Functional Materials in 2021 (1 paper), Chemical Engineering Journal in 2021 (1 paper), Small Methods in 2021 (2 papers), and 8 other SCIE papers.   References: 1. Lee, J.,1 Lee, T.1 H., Jang, H. W.,* Park, H. S.* (2022). Chemical modification of ordered/disordered carbon nanostructures for metal hosts and electrocatalysts of lithium‐air batteries. InfoMat, 4(1), e12268. 2. Lin, L., Piao, S., Choi, Y., Lyu, L., Hong, H., Kim, D., Lee, J.,* Zhang, W.,* Piao, Y.* (2022). Nanostructured Transition Metal Nitrides as Emerging Electrocatalysts for Water Electrolysis: Status and Challenges. EnergyChem, 100072.

Fashion Atelier Certificate Programme Hong Kong - APPLICATIONS are now open!

[ITC supported activity] Coming in June 2022 the Hong Kong Fashion Designers Association is pleased to debut the launching of the Fashion Atelier Certificate Programme: London Savile Row Academy in Hong Kong!! This exclusive and top-level programme on both Menswear & Womenswear Pattern Drafting, Cutting, Fitting and Tailoring techniques will be offered via face-to-face consultations, tutorials and hands-on workshops conducted by world renowned Professor Andrew Ramroop OBE, Principal of Savile Row Academy, London. Places are limited. Please submit your application now. Apply via our website now https://www.fashionatelier.com.hk/london-savile-row-academy-in-hong-kong [由 ITC 支持] 香港時裝設計師協會將於2022年6月首度舉辦高規格的時裝大師特訓班（FACP）：London Savile Row Academy in Hong Kong！ 國際知名的倫敦Savile Row Academy校長並量裁大師Andrew Ramroop OBE教授將親自任教這項課程，透過面授專業指導及實習工作室等豐富內容，傳授國際級的男女裝量裁、紙樣結構及製作技巧。學額有限，報名從速！ 請瀏覽以下網址報名 https://www.fashionatelier.com.hk/london-savile-row-academy-in-hong-kong

ITC Mainland alumni donate COVID-19 protective gear to their alma mater

As COVID-19 continues to spread in Hong Kong, ITC alumni from the class of 2020 of MA in Fashion & Textiles (Fashion Merchandising) have been pulling together to do what they can to help the alma mater to contain the novel coronavirus. The class representative Mr An Gang has capitalized on his strong network to encourage his classmates from different cities of Mainland China to contribute cash, supplies as well as personal networks. Within days, overwhelming response was received from nearly 30 alumni. 600 sets of medical protective clothing (valued RMB 40,000) was donated to PolyU, in support of measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus and provide a stable supply of health-protection equipment. The donation was supported by Shenzhen Charity Federation in the process of delivering the supplies to Hong Kong. and gratefully recognized by various government organisations such as the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Shenzhen Civil Affairs Bureau, and covered by over 20 media organisations in Mainland China.

Next in Elderly Fashion Show Competition

As the leading fashion school in Hong Kong, ITC endeavours to not only contribute to the fashion industry and academia, but also the community and people in need. Between October 2021 and January 2022, ITC cooperated with the Kowloon City Baptist Church Neighbourhood Elderly Centre, Sustainable Fashion Apparel Association Limited (SFAA), Hong Kong Social Enterprise Incubation Centre Limited (HKSEIC), fellow institutes, and industry partners to organise the ‘Next in Elderly Fashion Show Competition’.  The project aims to create fashionable outfits for senior citizens whose children have migrated overseas, and express how much the youths care about the elderly.  Led by Dr Haze Ng and Ms Jackie Leung, eight ITC students participated in the project and created 16 tailor-made outfits. The participating students are: Cheng Manqi, Daphne Cheng Chau Hung, Quinn Choi Lok Yi, Joey Kuo Chit, Marcus Ma Hoi Yan, Phyllis Tang Chung Yau, Yoyo Wong Lai Ching, Ding Yu Hiu Tung, Harriet Throughout the process, the students adopted an empathic co-design approach and put into practice classroom learnings to develop outfits together with the beneficiaries and industry collaborators. The students skillfully applied advanced laser engraving technology and tailoring techniques acquired from a summer course in 2021 on cheongsam making, and created unique fashion outfits with a high degree of practicability. During the project process, the students showed their attentiveness and youthful perspectives while the elderly shared their life experiences and stories. The communication between the two different generations touched both parties and created a meaningful design experience filled with warmth.  All 30 outfits created from the project were presented by the elderly and students in the ‘Next In Elderly Fashion Show’, which was held on 3 January 2022 at Ocean Park Hong Kong. The fashion show was livestreamed to the overseas families of the elderly participants as a form of an online reunion and celebration of the lunar new year. Our Year 3 student Daphne Cheng was awarded the Design Excellence Award and secured an internship sponsored by Stella Blu Textile Limited. The RTHK Radio 5 Life is Love interview of the project available at https://www.rthk.hk/radio/radio5/programme/lifeislove/episode/793364