On October 20 2025, over 3,000 Chinese and international guests at the event witnessed the grand opening of the Jiangxi Institute of Fashion Technology’s International Fashion Art Festival and the 29th“Runhua Award”- the Belt and Road University Student Fashion Design and Skills Contest.
Leading officials from the People's Government of Jiangxi Province, Vice President of China National Textile and Apparel Council,President of China Garment Association, prestigious professors from China’s renowned universities like Donghua University, JIFT Chairperson Tu Yanping, JIFT Secretary of the Party Committee Lin Jingping and JIFT President Xue Jiabao, student and faculty representatives from universities in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia and other countries attended this grand fashion event.
The ceremony was presided over by Li Baojun, Vice President and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of JIFT.
President Xue Jiabao of Jiangxi Institute of Fashion Technology extended a warm welcome and sincere gratitude to all leaders and distinguished guests, as well as high respects to people from all walks of life who have long cared for and supported JIFT’s development.
He remarked that having evolved over 29 years, the JIFT International Fashion Art Festival has grown from an in-campus competition into a vital platform for university students worldwide to showcase their talents and engage in cultural exchanges. With faculty and student participants from more than 60 domestic universities and over 30 overseas institutions joining in the event, this year’s festival is set to unfold an imaginative and innovative feast of apparel art.
Dr. Christine, President of L’Académie Internationale de Coupe de Paris (AICP), delivered a speech on behalf of overseas participating universities. She noted that the 2025 International Fashion Art Festival hosted by JIFT has built a platform for cultural and inspirational exchanges between Chinese and international fashion institutions, embodying the essence of borderless dialogue and co-creation within the fashion industry.
She sincerely expressed her wish to further deepen bilateral cooperation between the International Cutting Institute of Paris and Jiangxi Institute of Fashion Technology, so as to jointly boost the development of fashion education.
Chen Dapeng, Vice President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council and President of the China Garment Association stated that China’s textile and apparel industry is advancing towards high-quality development centering on four dimensions: technology, fashion, sustainability and wellness, accomplishing a transformative upgrade from manufacturing to original creation and from single-product supply to independent branding.
He expressed hopes that the Fashion Art Festival would further foster an educational ecosystem featuring industry-education integration and school-enterprise collaboration, thus delivering lasting internal impetus for the high-end, smart and eco-friendly development of the textile and apparel sector.
At the opening ceremony, awards for the 8th National Clothing Pattern Maker Vocational Skills Competition were presented. The contest was co-organized by the China Garment Association and Bosideng International Holdings Limited, and co-sponsored by JIFT. 107 outstanding contestants from 19 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government across China were shortlisted for the finals.
The competition was divided into three categories: menswear, womenswear, and down jackets. Four core assessments were included: clothing CAD pattern making, draping, sample production, and a theoretical exam, comprehensively testing the contestants’ professional skills, innovative thinking, and practical abilities.
The selected “Top Ten Clothing Pattern Makers” were along with awards for Best CAD Pattern Making, Best Production Process, and Best Draping Styling.
The ceremony culminated in the product launch of CHEN.1988 Industrial College, which offered the audience with a highly creative visual fashion feast. Themed “Dialogue between Hardness and Softness,” the show cleverly blended architecturally robust structures with flowing, soft lines. The dialogue between hardness and softness redefined the boundaries of contemporary tailoring.
Running for six days from October 20 to 25, the Fashion Art Festival 2025 boasts a rich and spectacular lineup of events, drawing extensive media coverage from numerous outlets including China Fashion, Jiangxi Radio and Television Station, and Textile & Apparel Weekly.
