News

Honouring and celebrating the life of Ms Basia Szkutnicka

It is with profound sadness that we share the news of the passing of our beloved colleague, Ms Basia Szkutnicka, in mid-March. To honour and celebrate her life and achievements, ITC organised a memorial service for Basia on 31 March at Hotel ICON.  Apart from her friends and colleagues who attended the service in person, over 100 people from all over the world who could not travel and say their farewell in person joined the service via Zoom.  Prof. Fan delivers an opening speech. During the service, Prof. Jintu Fan, Head and Chair Professor of ITC, delivered the opening speech:  “For Basia, the journey is now beginning. But for us, there is loss, grief and pain. Every one of us here has been affected - perhaps in small ways, or perhaps in transformative ones- by Basia. Her life mattered to us all.” Some close friends of Basia, including Hannah Svensson, Sean Chiles, Kristina Shin, Eleanor Warrington, Julia Gaimster, Elizabeth McClafferty, Basia Zamorska, Julia Robson and Elinor Renfrew paid tribute to her through their eulogy.  Ryan Houlton, Deputy Head of the Programme for MA Fashion & Textiles Design, and a close working partner of Basia, ended the service with a closing speech. A tribute video called ‘The Time Warp’ from one of Basia’s favorite films, ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’, was shown. Mr Ryan Houlton ends the service with a closing speech. Basia had made important contributions to the fashion industry.  She was a passionate educator and a visionary thinker and influencer in fashion education.  She will be fondly remembered by all of us.     

Interfiliere Shenzhen 2021 spotlights ITC final year student collections

Twelve final year ITC students showcased their creativity at Interfiliere Shenzhen 2021 which was hosted at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center from 24 to 26 March.  EUROVAT, an organizer of leading global trade shows in lingerie, activewear and swimwear, invited these Intimate Apparel and Activewear specialism students to exhibit 2-3 outfits in the Creativ’ Lab at the event. INTERFILIERE and China Knitting Brands Innovation Design Week joined forces to create “1 international High-end Intimated Apparel show” + “1 International Knitwear Show“. Interfiliere Shenzhen 2021 attracted over 500 exhibitors with highly selective visitors to build a platform that benefits the body fashion industry.  Although the COVID-19 pandemic is having immense impact on the international economy, the exhibition was a beacon on the latest fashion trends and design concepts in the local knitting industry.    

2021 ITC International Fashion Forum

The Fashion Design Gallery (Chair: Prof. Kinor Jiang) and the ITC Learning & Teaching Committee (Chair: Prof. Jason Choi) successfully held an International Fashion Forum on 30 March 2021. As an online format, the forum invited a broad range of audiences worldwide from the education and industry sectors. The facilitator Dr Eunsoo Baek, Assistant Professor of ITC, mentioned that the forum successfully fulfilled the aims of generating the public’s interest in issues of contemporary fashion and providing an educational platform for them to develop a global outlook and intercultural competence throughout the international exchanges of knowledge and opinions. Inviting three scholars in different fields, the interdisciplinary forum covered a hot topic titled “Digital Fashion and Virtuality in The Post-Covid Era” The detailed information of speakers and a brief about speech is provided below: "The cognitive-emotional design and Research of Retail Environments: Opportunities with Immersive Media” by So-Yeon Yoon, Associate Professor at Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University “Virtual Products as an Extension or a Presentation of My Body: Exploring Hedonic and Utilitarian Shopping Value in a Virtual Reality Retail Environment” by Seung Hwan (Mark) Lee, Director of Retail Management, Associate Professor, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University “Fashion Product Development in the Era of Digital Living” by Lushan (Sarina) Sun, Assistant Professor, ITC

PolyU – DRRC Novel Material Science and Technology Innovation Centre

On 24 March 2021, a hybrid live inauguration ceremony for the PolyU– DRRC Novel Material Science and Technology Innovation Centre was held at Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou and via Zoom. The Centre is a partnership effort between PolyU and the Dehaa Rossun Research Centre  (DRRC). Prof. Shek addresses in-person audience at inauguration ceremony. The ceremony was officiated by Prof. Daniel Shek, Interim Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU and Mr Gavin Zhou, CEO of the Lunaler Group. During his welcoming remarks, Prof. Shek expressed optimistic views towards the Centre: "I am delighted to witness the establishment of the PolyU– DRRC Novel Material Science and Technology Innovation Centre today. Since its inception in 1957, ITC has developed into a world renowned institution in fashion and textile education, research and technology transfer. Over the years, ITC has excelled in research and scholarship by taking full advantage of technology and innovation initiatives in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. The partnership between DRRC and ITC will definitely lead to more impactful and innovative discoveries for sustainable industrial development." Prof. Jintu Fan - Centre Director and Head and Chair Professor of ITC addresses audience. Prof. Jintu Fan, Centre Director and Head and Chair Professor of ITC also explained that "The objectives of the Centre is to conduct research and develop cutting-edge technologies and related products for novel materials, health care products, functional care products and smart wearable products." He added, "We also aim to fast track the initiation of industry technology standards and transfer the developed technologies to the industries and benefit society." Dr Sa Xu, Associate Director of the Centre and Chief Scientist of DRRC at Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou. Potential areas for collaboration include: Novel materials for health and comfort care Health care products for infants and the elderly Functional care products for women Smart wearable technology for health and comfort care Dr Tracy Mok, Associate Head and Associate Professor of ITC discusses computer-aided fashion intelligence. Dr Dahua Shou, Assistant Director of the Centre and Assistant Professor of ITC, provides introduction on  advanced textiles and smart wearables for personal comfort and care.  

More support for BA students: Final Year Project Mentorship Programme

The Final Year Project (FYP) Mentorship Programme was initiated in 2020, with the aim to establish caring and supportive relationships among ITC alumni, industrialists, and undergraduates. The objectives are: to empower mentees so that they can better address challenges in their research project, to enhance the future professional and career development opportunities of the mentees, to facilitate the educational, social and personal growth of mentees, and to provide mentors and mentees with professional formal and informal networking opportunities. Mentoring relationships are developed which encourage discussion, questions, and feedback in areas that will enhance the capabilities and competencies of the mentees. FYP Mentorship Meetings This year, four ITC alumni are invited to act as mentors, including Miss Nicky Chan (MA, 2017), Miss Sarah Chan (MA, 2000), Mr Dominic Cheng (MA, 2006), and Mr Spike Ngai (MA, 2018). All of them have a wealth of work experience in the fashion industry. The two rounds of the FYP Mentorship Meeting were held on 5 December 2020 and 30 January 2021, with an attendance of 20 final year students from three specialisms; namely technology, retail and marketing, as well as intimate apparel and activewear. All of them provided positive feedback on the FYP Mentorship Programme. Adoption of facial recognition and emotion tracking in FYPs The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has been a major trend in the fashion industry. Our graduating students are fully aware of this trend and keep apace by integrating AI in their FYP by using both their knowledge and creativity. Associate Professor of Fashion Business and BA programme leader, Dr Chris Lo, had this to say about using AI in FYPs: "My students applied facial recognition to track emotions using AI technology. Another student developed an augmented reality (AR) filter for virtual try ons. I think these examples can demonstrate how advanced our programme is and the capability of our students in using today’s latest technological innovations." Similar to the overall programme design which equips our students to address the latest challenges in the fashion industry, the FYP programme encourages students to experiment with the latest digital technology in their study. They are encouraged to go beyond purely academic discussions to adopt technology. For example, fashion business students are experimenting with AI, AR and user experience (UX) design tools and integrate them into their consumer research work. Two students, Edith and Wong Yan, share their experience with FYP.

In loving memory of our beloved Ms Basia Szkutnicka

It is with profound sadness that we share with you the news that our beloved colleague, Ms Basia Szkutnicka, passed away on 13 March 2021. Basia joined ITC as Professor of Practice in Fashion Design in January 2017, and made tremendous contributions to ITC. In particular, she was a wonderful asset to the MA programme in Fashion and Textile Design as the programme leader. A memorial service will be held at 8pm (GMT +8) on 31 March 2021 at the Bistro 1979, Room TH B219, B2/F., Hotel ICON, Hong Kong.  Memorial or floral contribution may be sent after 6.30 pm. People who wish to attend the service in person may register by email at chanel.fok@polyu.edu.hk or phone (+852) 2766 6492, due to number of attendance set by the venue.  Alternatively, they may choose to join the service over zoom with following information: https://polyu.zoom.us/j/2198135056?pwd=MytrNHNPTE5lR29OYnRDOFdwMHBEZz09 Meeting ID: 219 813 5056 Passcode: 27666500 Susie Menkes once described Basia as 'A breath of fresh air' in the International Herald Tribune. Basia specialised in design thinking, idea generation, creative design processes, curriculum development and innovation. She also supported and nurtured young talents. She was a visionary thinker and influencer, well respected in the global fashion community for her ability to move fashion forward by inspiring and motivating students and designers worldwide. Her reputation as an innovator resulted in invitations to jury fashion shows and competitions across the globe. After completing an Art Foundation course at the Camberwell School of Art in London, and upon graduating from the St Martins School of Art in London with First class Honours in Fashion Design in the competitive 80s, Basia proceeded to launch her own brand at London Fashion Week. She worked with her mentor Isabella Blow on avant-garde projects and fashion stylists and editors including Karl Lagerfeld, Michael Roberts, Judy Blame, and Zanna on photographic projects.  Her work was featured in Tatler (British magazine), American Vogue, The Face, The Independent, The Telegraph, The Standard, BLITZ magazine, Nova, i-D, The Daily Mail, YOU Magazine, International Textiles, and MODA. Over the last 25 years, she worked in the roles of programme director, design educator, author, writer, freelance designer and creative consultant. Prior to joining ITC, Basia was Director of the Study Abroad Programme at the London College of Fashion (UAL) where for over 15 years, she created and developed a unique educational model - a beacon of excellence.  Henceforth, her alumni and Fashion faculty network increased in globalisation and prestige. Basia was a collector of European and American vintage clothing, shoes and accessories. Her latest book, Vintage Fashion - A Fashion Sourcebook, published in 2016 and co-written with Jeffrey Mayer, is published in both English and Mandarin Chinese. Her first highly successful book, Technical Drawing for Fashion, (now into its second edition), is translated into 8 languages and has been adopted as a text book in fashion programmes worldwide. Both books are published by Laurence King Publishing and available on Amazon as well as reputable international bookstores, museums and galleries. Basia contributed to fashion magazines and publications, and wrote opinions on fashion culture and style. She was featured and quoted in a number of fashion books and magazines as well as interviewed for video and fashion reportage. She participated in radio and TV interviews, and acted as a commentator on fashion opinion and style. She worked for Camper footwear (Spain) for over 20 years, initially as their Cool Hunter – a concept generator and retail trend reporter who sourced innovative materials. She then collaborated with the brand on constructing and planning unique think tank design and creativity workshops which were held internationally, and most recently in Seoul, South Korea. Excellence was her aim and under her leadership, the MA programme in Fashion & Textiles produced creative, forward thinking design innovators who were encouraged to evolve their personal design identity, disrupt, and bring forth new proposals to the fashion landscape. Basia applied a futuristic and sustainable approach to learning, referencing the past, living in the present, whilst looking to the future. Her daily practice and interaction with creatives, contemporary thinkers, young designers and ambitious students were her research. You are welcome to join us to pay our respects to Basia at the date and time listed above, share the brief of the deceased family and offer them with our comfort and support.  Basia will always be fondly remembered by everyone at ITC.

Nature Materials publishes article by Prof. Zijian Zheng

ITC congratulates Prof. Zijian Zheng, Dr Qiyao Huang, and their colleagues who recently published in Nature Materials, a top-ranking journal in materials science and engineering. The paper highlights the application of a permeable superelastic liquid-metal fibre mat in biocompatible and monolithic stretchable electronics. As we are moving toward a technologically immersive world, electronics that are being worn on different parts of the body and interacting with humans are becoming an emerging trend. These kinds of “wearable” electronics have found promising applications in electronic skin (E-skin), medical and healthcare monitoring, sports tracking, and physiotherapy. However, conventional electronics are rigid, inextensible, flat, and fabricated with impermeable materials, whereas humans are soft, stretchable, and have contours, and therefore highly require a microenvironment that provides sufficient permeability to air, moisture, and liquid. As such, existing solid electronics may impede wear comfort and even create skin inflammation over long-term wear, which may further limit the design form factors of wearable and on-skin electronics. Stretchable electronic circuits printed on permeable superelastic liquid-metal fiber mat. To overcome this challenge, this research work replaces conventional solid and impermeable electronic materials with soft, superplastic, and breathable electronic materials. A new type of stretchable conductor, named a liquid-metal fiber mat (LMFM), is fabricated by simply coating or printing liquid metal onto an electrospun elastomeric fiber mat. In this LMFM, liquid metal hangs among the elastomeric fibres and self-organizes into a mesh-like and buckled structure, which can simultaneously offer high permeability, stretchability, conductivity, and electrical stability. The newly developed LMFM demonstrates smart adaptiveness to omnidirectional stretching over a 1800% strain, and most importantly, good biocompatibility with human skin. The paper also demonstrates that LMFM can be a versatile and user-friendly platform to fabricate monolithic stretchable electronics that provide high integration density, multifunctionality, and long-term wearability. This novel stretchable conductor is expected to find remarkable applications in wearable and on-skin electronics, soft robotics, and bioelectronics. The study was done in collaboration with Dr. Yang Chai of the Department of Applied Physics and Dr. Xin Zhao of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at PolyU.       Ma Z, Huang Q, Xu Q, Zhuang Q, Zhao X, Yang Y, Qiu H, Yang Z, Wang C, Chai Y, Zheng Z.* Permeable superelastic liquid-metal fibre mat enables biocompatible and monolithic stretchable electronics. Nat Mater. 2021 Feb 18. doi: 10.1038/s41563-020-00902-3.

Camper x PolyU MA Fashion

Students on the Master of Arts in Fashion and Textile Design recently embarked on an exciting collaborative design project with the renowned Spanish footwear brand, CAMPER.  At the beginning of this prestigious project, Camper established that a prize would be awarded to the top three winning projects. The overall winner was student Yu Lu, 1st runner Su Xing and finally the 2nd runner up was Xie Weilu. Each of them has received a financial prize, but most importantly their designs will be developed further to become a fully realized products for the brand. The CEO and the Creative Director of Camper were overwhelmed by the standard of work produced by all the students. The success of this project has meant that Camper have agreed to do the collaboration project again for the upcoming academic year.

Video Available NOW Dean's Distinguished Industry Lecture Series | Troubled Times: Opportunities for the Bold & Determined

The second lecture of the Dean’s Distinguished Industry Lecture Series was given on 25 February by ITC and a close associate of PolyU - Dr Henry Tan, BBS, JP, LHD. Dr Tan is Chairman of the Textile Council of Hong Kong; CEO of Luen Thai Group Ltd.; Court Member of PolyU; and former member of the Advisory Committee of ITC. His session entitled, “Troubled Times: Opportunities for the Bold & Determined” provided an overview on where opportunities for the textile and fashion industry can be found during the current unprecedented times. The talk was offered in a hybrid live format. Nearly 120 staff, students and alumni either attended in person in the ITC 4D Theatre, streamed the session on Zoom or watched on the ITC Youtube channel. In his opening introduction, Prof. Jintu Fan remarked, “Today, we are extremely honored and grateful to have Dr Henry Tan with us. As the Chairman of the Textile Council, I would say no one is in a better position to deliver this talk and to help our students and colleagues to broaden their perspectives about the development of the textile and fashion industry, and how we can equip ourselves better for all future eventualities.” While the textile and fashion industry is facing a difficult time due to the pandemic, Dr Tan believes that challenges also represent opportunities. He suggested that Hong Kong has many assets that can help to expand the textile and garment industry, such as its unique cultural and historical background, role as the world’s textile garment supply chain management center, pioneer position in textile and fashion related research, and strong support from the government. Dr Tan emphasised that “This (the textile and fashion industry) is not a sunset industry. When there is novelty, many opportunities can be created. Our commercialization is not the best yet so we should try to do better, and utilize all the new ideas and products that are available.” Dr Tan also pointed out several opportunities available in the expanding market of China and Southeast Asia, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, and China’s dual circulation economic strategy. Such policies would further connect Hong Kong with the world and generate a wealth of possibilities for Hong Kong to commercialize its innovative research results. Also, as the Chinese government is striving to reach the lower tier cities, Dr Tan also encouraged students not only to look towards the large cities, but also different tier cities when exploring opportunities in the industry, “You are young and can take a lot of risks. You should explore the world, whether it is a developed or emerging economy.” Compared to previous years, the consumption ability of China online has shown palpable growth. During the Spring Festival Golden Week of 2021, the sales of key retail and catering companies across the country reached 821 billion yuan, which is an increase of 28.7% over Spring Festival Golden Week 2020 and 4.9% over Spring Festival Golden Week 2019. Dr Tan proposed that these statistics show that China has recovered from COVID-19 and Hong Kong should take advantage of their growing consumption needs. Apart from retail and catering, there are also other opportunities in the Chinese e-commerce market. In 2019, over 30% of the Chinese GDP was in the digital economy and it is predicted to be over 50% in 2021. E-commerce has proven to be more adaptable than physical stores during the pandemic, and Dr Tan sees a bright future: “The changes in distribution can create opportunity since shopping in a physical store is no longer the only viable option. I also believe that there will soon be cross border e-commerce which will become more and more important in the years to come.” Meanwhile, the establishment of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has also allowed Hong Kong to “connect and trade throughout the region without duty, tariff and custom concerns, so that it is much more efficient and facilitates international e-commerce.” Dr Tan concluded that Hong Kong’s textile and fashion industry can make use of China and ASEAN countries for further advancements. He pointed out that Hong Kong has always had the advantages of researching and developing new materials, yet Hong Kong also needs to develop new business models to help commercialize itself in the global market. He reiterated that the fashion and textile industry “is not a sunset industry…our future is boundless but we just come together to make things work.”

ITC Online Mini-lecture Series 2021

ONLINE REGISTRATION The Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles and the Institute of Textiles and Clothing organized the Mini-lecture series for more than three years. The lectures aim to enrich students' knowledge in creative perspectives and arouse their interest in fashion and textiles. In view of the unpredictable development of the COVID-19 pandemic, the upcoming FAST Mini-Lecture Series will be conducted online on three Saturdays in March 2021.