ANTA Group and Tsinghua University Jointly Launched the Global Sportswear Design Award

BEIJING, Aug. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier this year in June, Chinese sportswear giant ANTA Group and Tsinghua University, an institution with a long-running sports tradition, came together to jointly establish Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion with the goal of furthering industry innovation in sport. The same day, they launched the "M·O·V·E-Born by Movement" theme reflecting their shared mission, vision and values. Bringing this theme, which encapsulates ANTA's Keep Moving philosophy to life, a creative talent platform was created to recruit and cultivate young designers around the world. Dubbed the Global Sports Equipment Innovation Design Competition, this platform serves as an enabling vehicle for designers to exhibit their skills, gain creative training and realize their ideas and dreams.

Turbocharged R&D and leapfrogging sports technology innovation

Aiming to nurture more outstanding design talent at home and abroad, and open up more possibilities for sports lifestyle products, ANTA Group continues to invest in sports technology research and development and innovative design. Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center is committed to building a world-leading innovation platform for the sports goods industry as also promoting China's sports industry. The industry-university-research model will serve as a joint force for innovation and build brands with global influence.

The Global Sportswear Design Award jointly launched by Tsinghua University and ANTA Group is the first exclusive sporting goods product design competition in the industry that invites participation from around the world. What's more, it drives wide-ranging social impact and industrial innovation. Powering this initiative is a comprehensive world-class service support system, a topflight jury, and the finest design instructors. Not only will it help companies achieve transformative results, but also provide designers with a platform to realize their ideas and dreams, fashioning future sports fashion design superstars.

Ding Shizhong, Chairman and CEO of ANTA Group, averred: "Innovation is the foundation for survival of the company. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of ANTA Group. We will continue to invest in technological innovation and R&D while rapidly transforming the group's global resources. The triple R&D model of industry-university-research cooperation that integrates R&D and academic resources is the only way for ANTA to go global."

The roots of independent innovation run deep

Promoting the development of the industry goes hand in hand with fostering independent innovation. Last year, the 2020 "ANTA Cup" China Footwear & Apparel Design Competition hosted by ANTA Group received more than a thousand submissions from around the country and overseas. After multiple rounds of selection by the judges, contestants Cui Tiehan and Wang Shengyu stood out among many outstanding designers and won top honors in the footwear and apparel categories respectively. Cui Tiehan's award-winning showcase "Superflex Clog 2030" was characterized by simplicity and a celebration of the ordinary. A graduate of Dalian Jiaotong University, Cui entered this competition for the first time.

"Start from the needs. Make user experience and other aspects the core thread of the design concept, and then tactfully weave creative inspiration into it. I fervently hope there is value and raison d'être in the shoes I design. " 
Cui Tiehan

The design of the shoes was inspired by clogs, one of the oldest styles of traditional Chinese footwear. The main midsole was made of fully recyclable and degradable wood. Cui believes that besides leveraging new technologies to enhance convenience and comfort, sneaker design needs to make better use of new techniques and materials so it can save costs and resources. Sustainable green design is also perfectly in keeping with the ANTA Keep Moving brand concept.

Winning work "Just Then" from the clothing category by Wang Shengyu from Hefei Normal University conveyed a unique concept, embodying a distinctive style.

"Costume design is about continually honing and experimenting. I sincerely hope that designers will have the courage, no matter whether in school or at work, to express what it means to be a new youth in the present times."
Wang Shengyu

The design was inspired by the new youth in the background of the May 4th Movement. It is an exhortation to today's youth to maintain a firm belief in the power of courage, independence and diligence. The name "Just Then" expresses the concept of youth at the right time, calling on contemporary youth to be pioneering and enterprising, and to showcase brilliance to the world. The clothing design incorporated current fashion trends and selected knitted fabrics that are both breathable and comfortable and, as such, well-suited to sportswear. The collision of bright orange and garnet red, on its part, serves to vividly represent the vitality and positive attitude of the new youth.

The ANTA Group has always taken R&D and innovation seriously, continually investing in it to deepen expertise in sports technology and innovative design. ANTA has partnered the Chinese Olympic Committee for eight consecutive years, representing Chinese sports brands in the international arena by creating Olympics equipment for 28 Chinese national teams and designing 6 award-winning outfits for Chinese sports delegations. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, ANTA supplied equipment to Chinese teams for weightlifting, wrestling, boxing, gymnastics, trampoline, taekwondo and other sports. Most notably, it invited China's first Oscar winner and celebrated costume designer and visual artist Tim Yip to lead podium outfit design for the Chinese sports delegation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"I think the design of this podium outfit needs to reflect magnanimity, large-heartedness, a space where we prosper and the world prospers with us. It is about enshrining this moment, rendering it immortal. Yes, that is the emotion I want to express. "
Tim Yip

After four years of work finessing this outfit design, Tim Yip finally unveiled a creation that not only flattered the Chinese frame but also paid tribute to the Chinese character and spirit. Born in Hong Kong, Tim Yip received his education in Europe and launched his artistic career in Taiwan before taking it to greater heights in Beijing. Tim Yip's rich personal experience combined with his exposure to diverse cultural influences widened his perspective and, in turn, reshaped how the Chinese see and express themselves on the world stage. In this design, he presents to the world the oriental aesthetic and what it means to be Chinese as a testament to China's long cultural heritage.

We hope to see sports brands demonstrate their design prowess to the world and shine on the international stage. At the same time, ANTA Group will also work with international designers, forging ahead and creating the future!

Appendix 1

ABOUT Global Sportswear Design Award (GSDA)

The Global Sportswear Design Award (hereinafter referred to as "the Award") is rooted in the field of professional sports fashion and focuses on the dream of shaping a better future for all. The engine behind this initiative is a comprehensive world-class service support system, a sterling quality standard, expert evaluation by a topflight jury, design experience knowledge and instruction by accomplished design masters and finally, assistance from leading enterprise that brings quality design to fruition. GSDA offers designers a platform to further their careers, realize ideas that promote sports and health for mankind, and fulfil their dreams of shaping a better future. In doing so, this initiative also helps discover and birth global sports fashion design superstars of the future.

With the theme, M·O·V·E- Born by Movement, this award invokes the laws of nature and in particular, that of movement, which is both infinite and a foundational basis for all living beings. The award embodies the principles of ANTA-Keep Moving and, by appreciating the aesthetic emotion of transcendent moments, hopes to create peak experiences. This competition, which is premised on originality, seeks talented designers for the field of sportswear design so it can nurture them as the backbone of the design industry. Taking the vision of the future as its goal, it integrates production, academy and research intimately to explore the future of sportswear. The award is committed to becoming a pioneering event with wide-ranging social influence that drives industrial innovation. It advocates a return to design originality - "creation" - integrating creative resources from all over the world to sculpt dreams and script the future of sports.

Theme M·O·V·E

With the universe in a constant state of flux, life teems and grows endlessly underscoring the truth that the essence of human sustenance is indeed movement.

Keep moving, explore bravely, forge ahead and create the future.

Appendix 2