Local label Izzue and Tsinghua University join forces to support design students

Some of the world's most talented fashion designers have been discovered at shows held at fashion schools worldwide, such as Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts and Central Saint Martins in London. But the most recent round of talent spotting took place in a less likely place: Beijing's Tsinghua University.

For the past two, years the university has upped its fashion game by joining forces with local brand Izzue (owned by fashion powerhouse I.T), to host the Izzue x Tsinghua Fashion Design Award, which aims to support young designers around the world.

"I think the most important thing about this competition is that it allows people from different backgrounds to communicate. It's a platform to bring them together, encouraging our own students to open their minds while improving their design and research levels," says Professor Li Dangqi, former secretary of the party committee of the Academy of Art and Design of Tsinghua University and president of the China Fashion Association.

Since its inception in 2013, the international award has been supported by various design institutes across the globe, such as Parsons The New School for Design, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and the London College of Fashion.

This year saw the first ever Hong Kong semi-final to encourage local participation, while four new schools took part, including University of Salford in Manchester, the Hong Kong Design Institute and France's École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs.

"It's interesting for us to participate in this kind of competition because there is a new generation of designers emerging in China. They have a fresh look, much like the Japanese did many years ago," says Gilles Rosier, head of fashion at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and one of the competition judges. "At the same time, our students can really benefit from being exposed to a different country and its traditions."