Awards for vocational school students’ works inspired by the industrial revolution

The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency and Startup Campus’s joint “Get In The Picture – New Talent Of The Year” tender has ended

The “Get in the Picture – New Talent of the Year” tender, organised by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency, the Budapest Complex Vocational Training Centre, and Startup Campus, has concluded. The competition provided possibilities for students of fashion, design, and creative industries, the future professionals of the sector nationwide. There was an outstanding interest in the program, and finally, six teams out of the nearly 100 candidates received valuable awards.

One of the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s main tasks is supporting the domestic creative industry’s vocational training development and providing new talents in the sector. Keeping this goal in mind, the HFDA started to collaborate with Startup Campus in the autumn of 2019, with the mission of jointly generating a value-creating fashion and design industry ecosystem to boost the sector. The latest milestone of the collaboration was the now-closed “Get in the Picture – New Talent of the Year” tender, which focused on talent nurturing, inspiration, and creativity development of future professionals, with the intent of creating a tradition, professionally supported by the Budapest Complex Vocational Training Centre.

The tender on “Industrial Revolutions – From the Sewing Machine to Robots” was surrounded by great interest: the competition was open to teams of full-time students of creative, fashion and design industry vocational training who wanted to call attention to the beauties of their profession with their innovative creations and inspiring ideas. Altogether, 26 teams applied for the program – that is, almost 100 students submitted projects – and based on the jury’s decision, three fashion- and three design-themed teams received a prize at the April award ceremony.

“The nationwide interest shown in the tender reassures us that there is interest in creative industry professions among young people as well. The entries were characterised by a rather diverse choice of topics, the ideas mirrored the changes of the industrial revolutions, technological development, and its environmental challenges. I trust that students who are about to start their careers can make use of the experiences gained and the professional relations formed in the future as well.” explained Anita Forintos-Szűcs, Deputy General Managing Director of the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency. She added: “I would like to thank the teachers of vocational training for their support and their flexibility that contributed to the success of the teams.”

The program was also an outstanding opportunity for professional development and networking for the students. During the competition, expert mentors helped the students by sharing their professional experiences at the consultations and assisted in the completion of the students’ ideas with their knowledge and outstanding competence. Future fashion industry professionals were accompanied by mentors such as Bence Csalár, fashion journalist and expert; Borbála Ferencz, fashion designer; and Szilvia Horváth, Head of the Fashion Department of Mod ’Art. Dávid Pap, Managing Director of Fablab Budapest; Sára Kele, product designer, and Máté Horváth, product designer supported the design industry talents with their professional remarks.

The presentations held at the award ceremony gave evidence of the students’ dedication. The entries all emphasised sustainability and environmental responsibility, while also raising social questions. The six finalist teams won valuable prizes including valuable vouchers, digital tools, and the possibility to participate in professional workshops.

In fashion, the students of the Budapest Complex SZC Creative Vocational School, the team Scelestis won the first place, followed by the SZC Wesselényi Miklós Secondary Technical School and Student Hostel’s students, Krea – Team from Nyíregyháza, while the Dekorvarázs team from the SZC Báthory István Secondary Technical School from Zalaegerszeg came in third. On the design side, the SZC Vedres István Technical School’s team, SonicON from Szeged was handed the first prize, while the Vágjuk a fát! (Let’s cut the tree!) team from the Kozma Lajos Woodworking and Creative Technical School from Budapest arrived second, and the third place was given to the Csillagok (Stars) team from the Budapest BKSZC Creative Technical School.

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About the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency

The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency was founded in 2018 to support every actor in the fashion and design industry in an efficient and structured way, following predetermined strategic pillars: professional coordination, enhancing Hungarian brands’ availability and trade opportunities, educational development and manufacturing development. To realise its goals, the HFDA organises domestic events each year, such as the region’s major fashion event, the Budapest Central European Fashion Week, or the 360 Design Budapest exhibition, which has received international awards. Besides, they provide Hungarian creators opportunities for participation and debuting at international professional events such as the Milano Fashion Week. Strategic cooperation with professional organisations, increasing export, and supporting Hungarian brands’ professional development with mentoring programs are among their accentuated goals.