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Let There Be Light | Sun Young Choi

The American conceptual artist and philosopher, Adrian Piper, stated that there is a distinct correlation between the 2000s and the ‘60s. There was interest in Eastern philosophy in the 1960s and new-age healthcare is a concept similar to meditation now; from the sexual revolution of the 1960s to feminism now; from the countercultural communities of the 1960s to the leftist, communitarian politics now, and from the organic food/back-to-the-land movements of the 1960s to the environmental movement today, all of those 1960s’ trends were influenced by psychedelics. Psychedelic art refers to the counterculture art movement in the late 1960s that involved paintings, designs, and posters that were rendered in provocative and delirious images similar to the visual hallucinations that appear when our senses, which perceive objects through light, are maximized by LSD and other psychotropics. The primary representational principle of psychedelic art lies in the pursuit and repetition of distorted or geometric shapes and the use of brilliant colours rather than ultraprecise microscopic depiction. If psychedelics were the spiritual basis of the 1960s, what is its basis in the modern-day world? Video images dominate this era more than at any other time. The “Age of the Image,” a BBC documentary, emphasized the power of images by dubbing the current era as such. Psychedelia, which dominated the spirit of the 1960s, pursued the illusion of images that evoked a dizzy and even nauseating sense through the combination of complex shapes and colours. I have designed clothes that derive their motifs from the moire fringe and the pronounced effect and focus on light as the origin that manifests the colours and shapes. A total of fifteen outfits were designed to remind modern-day digital natives not of the negative aspects of images, but of the beauty and innate meaning of light as the origin that creates images by expressing the longing for the fundamental and spiritual beauty that is symbolized by light. Since ancient times, light has served as a figurative essence that symbolizes the divinity of the absolute being. In Christianity, too, light is the most important essence, as it connects heaven and earth, the sacred and the secular. In the Old Testament, light is related to life, happiness, law, and wisdom, and in the New Testament, it also symbolizes transcendental sacredness. The early Greek fathers of the Orthodox Church thought that as beauty itself, God mediated between us and the ideal world through the symbol of physical or spiritual light. They believed that light occurred on earth from the discharge of light as such, that the divine beauty of heaven could be re-enacted through the splendour of colour and the physical luxury that symbolized light, and souls could be elevated through such re-enactment. In The Origin of the Work of Art, Martin Heidegger said, “Beauty is the way in which truth occurs as unconcealment.” Similarly, I hope the light of revelatory truth that the invisible God as the transcendental being presents to us will reveal something of itself through this collection. Dr Sunyoung Choi is pleased to introduce you to her online exhibition, “Let There Be Light”. The presentations composed of two videos; one of the films presents the concept of the exhibition and the other one is commentary. Learn more

ITC welcomes Dr Shuang Zhou

Dr Shuang Zhou is the newest appointed Research Assistant Professor at ITC.  Dr Zhou received her PhD at the University of Manchester in 2019 and then proceeded to join ITC this year. Her research interests lie primarily in the fields of digital and social media marketing, integrated marketing communications, and cross-cultural marketing. She is particularly interested in influencer marketing and the use of artificial intelligence and augmented and virtual realities in marketing. Dr Zhou has presented her work at several international academic conferences and worked as a teaching assistant for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in fashion marketing and retail at the University of Manchester.

Video Available NOW Dean's Distinguished Industry Lecture Series | Management of Fashion Business under the "New Normal"

The first lecture of the Dean’s Distinguished Industry Lecture Series was given on 23 November by a well respected ally and supporter of ITC, Ms Shirley Chan, BBS, JP, Vice Chairman of YGM Trading Ltd.; Chairlady of the Advisory Committee on Textile and Clothing Industries of PolyU; and PolyU Council member. Her session, "Management of Fashion Business under the New Normal” attracted an attendance of nearly 150 staff, students and alumni. In response to the social distance restrictions, the talk was organised in a hybrid live format in the ITC 4D Theatre and streamed on Zoom and the ITC Youtube channel.    In his opening remarks, Prof. Jintu Fan, Chair Professor and Head of ITC said, " We are so fortunate to have Ms Shirley Chan as our first speaker of the Dean’s Distinguished Industry Lecture Series to share her invaluable insights with PolyU staff, students and alumni, enabling us to broaden our horizons and keep abreast of the latest developments in the industry." The pandemic has brought about many challenges in all aspects of life. Daily and social activities have been suspended and cities are shut down. Ms Chan suggested that several phenomena have emerged in the "new normal", including e-learning, virtual exhibitions, virtual fashion shows and digital workplaces. "In the fashion industry, sales dropped dramatically and retail stores closed all over the world from January to July 2020. The highest decline was in March. There have been no signs of things picking up because there are no tourists and locals are working from home, and therefore dressing down.” said Ms Chan. Nevertheless, Ms Chan reminds us that challenges can also present new opportunities at the same time. "On the bright side, e-commerce sales have increased significantly…In Hong Kong, projected online sales increased by 13.4% in 2020. In China, online sales increased by 22% in the first quarter of 2020, and 34% in the second quarter." To support the continued growth of e-commerce, various portals and apps have been developed. New concepts such as video shopping is now popular in China. Ms Chan however feels that brick and mortar stores can evolve: “Still, physical stores play a role but need to be re-invented. The fashion journey remains a multiple channel that consists of online and offline platforms. Thus, online-to-offline (O2O) shopping, customer relationship management (CRM), big data, and artificial intelligence (AI) have become more crucial in the fashion industry.” All these trends help to nurture sales leads, enhance personalization, and increase efficiency of business processes and engagement. Companies are striving to stay ahead of their competitors and better market their products in the industry. In 2019, the GDP of the China Greater Bay Area was USD 1.6 trillion. McKinsey & Company predicts that by 2023, the top GDP growth will be found in the China Greater Bay Area. Ms Chan suggested that Hong Kong can take advantage of the growth: “This is the opportunity from the Belt and Road for us. Hong Kong can strengthen its “super-connector” role in textile and clothing by facilitating sustainable trade and development, providing cumulative knowledge in different aspects, acting as a distributing hub by exporting apparel products produced from the Belt and Road countries, and setting up factories in the Belt and Road countries.” Ms Chan advised the attendees to "Look beyond Hong Kong. Grasp the opportunities." Ms Chan concluded that Hong Kong has long been a major hub for global fashion. "We have the cumulative knowledge, a variety of favourable policies and funds introduced by the government, well-established education institutions, as well as fashion incubation in Mainland China." She reminded the students and alumni to venture beyond Hong Kong for more exciting opportunities.

Dr Di Fan in Vogue Business again

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is expected to eliminate a range of tariffs on imports and include provisions on intellectual property, telecommunications, financial services, e-commerce and professional services among 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Dr Di Fan, Assistant Professor of ITC, was interviewed by Vogue Business on the implications for the fashion and textile industries. Dr Fan stated that, “The lowering of non-tariff barriers, such as custom clearance, is expected to reduce the time products spend in transit, making garments from RCEP members competitive from a time-to-market perspective too." "The shorter days of supply can bring tremendous advantages to the fashion firms in the region. If a fast fashion brand needs 14 days to put a design on the shelf, a saving of four days in custom clearance can boost the speed to the market by around 30 per cent.” He added. China is the largest textiles exporter, the reduced tariff will increase the price competitiveness of Chinese textile products in the region, alleviating the raise of labor cost pressure for Chinese textile producers. "The agreement will also accelerate the shift of lower value production from China to ASEAN countries, which aligns with Chinese government efforts to pivot to higher value-added manufacturing sectors. It will also allow the country to boost domestic consumption through leveraging overseas production capacity." Dr Fan explained. For the full story, please visit https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/what-rcep-means-for-fashion

Prof. Fan @ International Textile and Apparel Association Leadership Meeting

Prof JT Fan, Head and Chair Professor of ITC, was invited to attend the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) Leadership Meeting on 16 November 2020. This is a leadership sharing meeting for all the department heads and leaders of fashion and textiles programmes affiliated to ITAA. About the International Textile and Apparel Association   The International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) is a professional, educational association composed of scholars, educators, and students in the textile, apparel, and merchandising disciplines in higher education. It promotes the discovery, dissemination, and application of knowledge and is a primary resource for its members in strengthening leadership and service to society.

CALL FOR ENTRY | Young Designer-entrepreneurs Wanted!

ITC STORE is now inviting new designers to join our entrepreneur incubation project! All undergraduate and postgraduate students from all disciplines at PolyU are welcome to submit their application for our panel's review and consideration! If you need a platform to showcase your talent in fashion and accessory design, please do not hesitate to seize this valuable opportunity and join us now! Link to download the Application Form: Click to Download Please send your application form together with the design concept board and product shots to itcstore@polyu.edu.hk by 31 January 2021. Should you have any enquiries, please contact us at itcstore@polyu.edu.hk or Dr Magnum Lam (Research Assistant Professor) at magnumml.lam@polyu.edu.hk.

Richemont group shares knowledge with ITC students

Dr Chloe Ki, Assistant Professor of ITC, coordinated a sharing session called Virtual Fashion Expert Sharing with the Chloé Marketing & Communication Team from the Richemont Group, a Swiss luxury goods holding company. Ms Yijia Dai, Assistant Communications Manager of Chloé, shared “How to communicate to the luxury customers in the post-pandemic era”. The session gave our ITC students the opportunity to learn about the latest luxury fashion marketing communication strategies that are important to future retail elites in the post-pandemic era.  

Dr Di Fan and Dr Chris Lo receive prestigious 2020 Jack Meredith Best Paper Award

Dr Di Fan and Dr Chris Lo are the recipients of the 2020 Jack Meredith Best Paper Award, which is awarded by the Journal of Operations Management (JOM), a flagship journal in operations management. The editor-in-chief of JOM first submits the list of nominees. Then all of the departmental editors, who are world-renowned scholars from top business schools, vote for the award recipients. The findings of their study, Deviations from aspirational target levels and environmental and safety performance: Implications for operations managers acting irresponsibly, are featured in international media outlets, including the Guardian (International Edition), Sydney Morning Herald, The Age (Melbourne), and Yahoo! UK & Ireland. The article was a Wiley top downloaded paper (2018-2019) and a featured article in JOM. Deviations from aspirational target levels and environmental and safety performance: Implications for operations managers acting irresponsibly examines how financial performance affects corporate social responsibility and explores how human aspirations play a role in this relationship. It is found that anxieties lead poor performing firms to cut corners in employee safety and environmental protection, whereas hubris leads profitable corporate giants to ignore using resources to abide with laws. The findings imply that both underperforming and overperforming firms tend to tolerate unethical behaviours, while firms closer to the norm behave better.  Drs Lo and Fan explain, “Our research aims to advance understanding of the underlying reasons of corporate irresponsibility. Since human emotions are behind such behaviours, we call for more scientific research on the corporate business decision making process to inhibit these cognitive biases. Regulators, creditors and investors can play a key role in promoting sustainable practices, with extra attention on both ends. Sustainability is the most critical issue for today’s fashion industry. All in all, we are very grateful for this opportunity to feature ITC research work beyond the fashion industry and being recognized in the global business and management research communities.”  The Journal of Operations Management is the most prestigious journal in the field of operations management. It is listed among the 24 leading journals of the UT Dallas’ Naveen Jindal School of Management database and the 50 journals used in The Financial Times research rank. It is also ranked top on the Australian ABDC journal quality list (A*), the UK ABS journal list (4*), and Chinese Academy of Sciences JCR ranking (Q1). Read more about the work of Drs Lo and Fan in the Journal of Operations Management: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/joom.1032 Wiengarten, F, Fan, D*, Pagell, M, Lo, CKY. Deviations from aspirational target levels and environmental and safety performance: Implications for operations managers acting irresponsibly. J Oper Manag. 2019; 65: 490– 516.

ITC hosts online seminar on WealthTech

Ever wondered about the promises and pitfalls of online solutions that aim to enhance your wealth-management process? Over 130 individuals which included ITC research and MA students and alumni members were interested in this topic and participated in an ITC organised online seminar on WealthTech (WT) to understand its impact on consumer welfare and the financial markets. Prof. Haitian Lu, Director of the Chinese Mainland Affairs Office and Professor of Law and Finance of the Faculty of Business, PolyU, presented his latest research on WT in “The Promises and Pitfalls of WealthTech: Evidence from Online Marketplace Lending” on 17 October. For decades, the wealth management industry has retained its status quo, charging high fees to provide advice to a small group of high-net-worth clients. The rise of WT, or use of digital solutions, has changed this landscape. WT promises to "democratize financial services" by serving the underserved market segments with affordable, accessible, instant, and seamless wealth management services. Critics, on the other hand, argue that people design, model and market WT algorithms, so it would be naïve to assume that all WTs are well-designed with competency and integrity.

Visit of school principals

A group of school principals, career mistress and panel heads visited ITC on 6 November 2020 to understand our BA programme and learning facilities.