For the third consecutive year, IFA Paris was invited to participate in the international ISPO workshop in Munich, entirely dedicated to the world of sport. Delphine Durieux, coordinator of the Bachelor Fashion Design & Technology program assisted the students during this event, which was organized for them under the banner of the MasterClass of the ISPO Academy. This was the opportunity to question her about this event, which is a great platform for exchanges between companies in the sector and new talents.

IFA Paris: ISPO Munich is the largest European trade fair for fashion and sports equipment. Every year, and for the past 3 years, IFA Paris has responded enthusiastically to this invitation. How did the school’s participation in this 2019 session come about?

Delphine: As it is the case every year, we make a pre-selection among our 2nd year students studying fashion design, asking them to conceive a collection for the sportswear market. This year, 4 students were selected and had the opportunity to participate in this masterclass which took place from February 1st to February 4th, 2019 in Munich.

IFA Paris: Masterclasses, which are closed events, are intended for tomorrow’s designers, they encourage multidisciplinary thinking and collaboration. Each year represents a new design challenge, a barometer that also allows students to assess their know-how and compare the skills acquired with those of others. Are you proud of your students’ performance? How did they welcome this experience?

Delphine: The students were very enthusiastic, and this allowed them to discover another sector of clothing, which is not very much discussed in fashion schools. They were also confronted with working in groups with other students they did not know, giving them the opportunity to put their communication skills into practice which is a very good exercise for future corporate work. They were also able to benefit from conferences and exhibitions in order to learn about the manufacture of sportswear, but also the integration of new technologies. The students have demonstrated their talents in a very short time. They have been able to deal with the complexities of the highly technical sportswear sector.

Moreover, the work of one of the groups, which has a student from IFA Paris as a member, has been chosen to be developed and presented at the next edition of the ISPO.

IFA Paris: ISPO is a must for any sports professional… but not only! Sportswear is constantly gaining market share in the traditional fashion market. With its’ ultra-fashionable products and city codes, how do you explain the growing influence of sport on the textile sector? Is the reverse also true?

Delphine: We live in an increasingly active world and the way we dress is a reflection of that. We also need more comfort in our daily lives, and sportswear fabrics such as jersey are good for this. The trend is cozy but stylish clothes. Nowadays, sportswear clothes such as hoodies and sneakers have become basics such as the little black dress and the trench coat, one cannot go without the other.

IFA Paris: The three main trends common to sportswear and ready-to-wear are urban influences, sustainable development and fashion tech. Can we finally identify a unique concept? But are the styling techniques different?

Delphine: Indeed, tomorrow’s fashion will be influenced by sustainable fashion and new technologies. Companies will have to review their business models if they want to keep up. I wouldn’t talk about concept, but about readjustment. Because yes, there are different ways of thinking and designing clothes, that’s why in our fashion design programs we have modules related to sustainable fashion and new technologies to prepare our students for the fashion of tomorrow.

IFA Paris: With its 18 halls and 200,000 m2 of dedicated space, ISPO really focuses on innovation and trends; every year, this fair honours the most outstanding sports products by awarding the ISPO Awards. Leaving aside the official list of winners, what would have been your 2019 award?

Delphine: I have attended many conferences on technology integration and sustainable development. An innovation that caught my attention is an invention of the Dupont Group. DuPont ™ Intexar ™ is a revolutionary electronic ink and film that transparently transforms fabric into elegant clothing for a variety of applications. This technology makes it easy to design and incorporate, directly into the fabric using standard garment manufacturing processes.

For more infos on this program, please visit Bachelor Fashion Design & Technology