Institutional quotes

ITS is a platform that has been positioning Friuli
Venezia Giulia at the centre of a prestigious network
of creativity and design for years.
Focused on the topic of sincerity, the 2019 edition
highlights an issue of major concern not only for fashion
designers but for all human fields: in a post-truth
dominated era, working to re-assert basic, though often
long-lost, principles is an action of great intellectual
and moral significance.
These values will not only grant beneficial – and hopefully
lasting – effects to the efforts of each participant,
but will moreover be the guidance of the ITS Arcademy:
a project of international relevance which fosters
education and experimentation as ways to new forms
of artistic and professional horizons.
For all these reasons, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional
Government wishes the best outcome to this tried and
tested event.

Massimiliano Fedriga

President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region

It is a true pleasure, as well as our duty, to stand by
ITS – International Talent Support, an event I have
always believed in since its inception in 2002. I have
always supported it in my previous terms of office as
Mayor and with great pleasure also in this one, contributing
to its growth. ITS not only supports young
talents, it also enables the city to enjoy international
visibility even in fashion.
The talent and vision of Barbara Franchin and her
team who, since the very first edition, have successfully
involved young talents from over 80 countries, are
an excellent representation of Trieste, now more than
ever the city where everything is possible, capable of
growing in terms of its cultural, economic and social
aspects and capable of creating networked systems, of
being a protagonist and not just a mere spectator of
its own growth. A growth that, thanks to the Porto
Vecchio, the Old Port, will create new job opportunities
and provide well-deserved outcomes for all.
Trieste is a city that is running fast and aims at enhancing
the value of its diverse potentialities. In such
a scenario, ITS takes center stage, projecting Trieste,
once again, onto the international scene of fashion
and creativity, speaking to the young in their own
language, embracing the future and opening up to the
further advance of a sector that is part of this country’s
finest heritage.

Roberto Dipiazza

Mayor of Trieste

The Fondazione CRTrieste will be supporting ITS
also this year, appreciating in particular the event’s
significant role in highlighting the value of young
talents in an industry, that of fashion, that is one of
the country’s greatest assets.
In addition, ITS also acts as a valuable promotional
tool for the international visibility of Trieste and of
Friuli Venezia Giulia, capable in turn of serving as
a driving force for a territory that, today, thanks to
the peculiarities of its landscapes and architecture,
definitely offers some truly remarkable inspirations
for our constantly growing tourism, as well as the
perfect setting for international film productions
and ad campaigns.
The innovation ITS brings about, moreover, reflects
the spirit of yet another important feature of Trieste,
that of the city of science and knowledge.

Tiziana Benussi

President of Fondazione CRTrieste

Partner quotes

Having been part of ITS for the last 18 years, we
feel part of a family. A family of talented creative
minds from all over the world whom we have the
privilege to meet first hand, to be inspired by, to
mentor and to give a chance to – in this industry
and in life.
I will never tell them enough to be brave, to think
out of the box, to innovate and to move us all forward.
The future of fashion passes by them.

Renzo Rosso

President of OTB

ITS a dream. Dreams are extremely powerful and
contagious. From dreams stems passion, which makes
the most incredible things happen. When all this
started, very few of us really believed that the dream of
a passionate girl from Trieste to support young creative
talents to bloom and emerge could become true, in
a small city with a very different vocation. But today,
here we are, against all odds: the dream is well & alive,
and it became the dream of all the talents participating
in the contest. The dream of winning and seeing their
own creativity effort become alive in the collections
of international brands and maisons. Most probably,
to make ITS become what it is today in a big city
like London, New York, Milan or Paris, would have
required much broader resources. Maybe not even that
would have helped to succeed, as competition is so
tough that some similar activity could have frustrated
the effort. Today ITS is an established and recognized
global reality, a very unique project in the world of
creativity and for the young talents who overlook the
international scene. Today ITS is becoming even more
powerful and contagious, as it gives birth to what
is the natural prosecution of the initial dream: ITS
Arcademy, a way to transmit ITS passion, to share ITS
values, to nurture creativity not just once a year but
every day, not just with a lucky group of gifted individuals
but with everybody who wants to be in contact
with this world. Congratulations and my warmest
wishes for this new adventure.

Andrea Illy

Chairman of illycaffè

The ITS Arcademy project in Trieste is a visionary
and passionate expression of the belief in creativity as
a source of growth, in the power of nurturing talents
beyond boundaries, in the importance of collecting
memories and sharing them.
Barbara Franchin’s determination and commitment
to give a stage and support creative talents from all
over the world is an inspiration and should be a challenge
for more to happen in the same direction.
ITS Arcademy will be a lively and breathing energetic
project where ideas will be catalyzed and will generate
new ideas.
Access to the fabulous ITS archives and interactive
workshops as well as the continuous innovation in
the way the space can be used will create a sparkling
environment helping talents to blossom, research to
generate newness and knowledge to be shared.
Thanks to ITS Arcademy a new era of interdisciplinary
creative dialogues will reveal new horizons and
invent new languages.
I see ITS Arcademy as a generator of beauty and new
energy.

Carlo Giordanetti

Creative Director Swatch International

We are truly glad to collaborate on a new edition of
ITS and give our contribution to such a high value
project which, throughout the years, has turned the
spotlight on a great number of designers from all over
the world. We have always admired the passion and
competence of the ITS team, the ability to involve
fashion schools and the perceptiveness in selecting the
best talents. As Pitti Immagine we host leading trade
fairs that have become an important reference point
for global fashion and lifestyle, we work in partnership
with thousands of brands, we get international top
buyers involved in our initiatives and produce great
communication events. And these are the tools we
shall put at the disposal of the young designers of ITS:
supporting the winner, inviting them to take part in
the winter edition of Pitti Uomo in January 2020 - or
in the February 2020 edition of Super in Milan in case
of a womenswear collection - with a one-year mentorship
through our Tutoring & Consulting direction.

Raffaello Napoleone

CEO of Pitti Immagine

Supporting young talents, allowing them to express
themselves and grow is an unquestionable commitment
on which everyone involved in the fashion
industry must agree. Together with sustainability and
digitalisation it stands as one of the pillars of our strategy
at Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana.
This is the reason why we are proud to support ITS
once again with an actual prize. The creativity and
the energy produced by the work of Barbara and her
platform are of great inspiration.