A jury consisting of international design, industry, and media experts will select the award winners according to set criteria. The decision of the jury is final and cannot be contested in a court of law.
 
Members of the Jury FASH 2017:
-Claudia Braun, Senior Manager Color & Trim, Mercedes-Benz. After completing her diploma in Textile Design at the “Staatlichen Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart“ (Stuttgart State Academy for Fine Arts), Claudia Braun began her career at Smart in the Color and Trim department. After eight years working for Porsche, in 2015 she started at Mercedes-Benz in the Color & Trim department and is currently responsible for the color and material design for the Mercedes-Benz (Car and Truck), Mercedes-Maybach, and Smart brands. www.mercedes-benz.com
-Otto Drögsler, Creative Director Odeeh. Drögsler studied fashion design at the Hochschule für Angewandte Kunst (University of the Applied Arts) Vienna under masters Karl Lagerfeld and Jil Sander. In 1981, as one of three star pupils, he was awarded the Rencontre du Jeune Talent in St. Gallen. In 1982 he won first prize in Modeteam Wien and was awarded a scholarship in Paris. After having worked for -Chloé, Rena Lange, and Escada he was as Design Director, together with Jörg Ehrlich, responsible for both the men’s and women’s collections by René Lezard from 1997 to 2008. In 2009 they launched their label called Odeeh. Otto Drögsler is responsible for the design, whereas Jörg Ehrlich handled the craftsmanship, the collection concept, the marketing, as well as the management of the company. www.odeeh.de
-Joachim Schirrmacher brings worlds together as Creative Consultant: economy & design, Research and practice, visual experience and verbal impressions. He offer his 25 years of expertise in fashion and design for governments, corporate and academic clients. He wrote for renowned Media like Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Since 2004 he is Director of the European Fashion Award FASH by SDBI.DE. www.schirrmacher.org
-Thomas Steinbrück, Creative Director Reebok, Boston. After completing his studies at Studio Berçot and his Masters at the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, he worked as an Assistant designer for Gianfranco Ferré, Christian Dior. In 2000 he was awarded the Moët & Chandon Designer Debut Award and his label began to be sold in over 50 shops worldwide including Bergdorf Goodman, and Saks 5th Avenue. He then went on to teach at the Parsons School of Design in New York. In the USA and Germany, he has worked as Creative Director for Kenneth Cole New York, Elie Saab, Porsche Design, and Liebeskind. www.reebok.com
-Franco P Tettamanti earned a degree in medicine at the University of Switzerland and worked as an orthopaedic surgery assistant in his native Switzerland, before becoming an award winning photographer. He has studied cinematography and photography in New York, Paris and Zurich. He lives now in Paris where he is a well established photographer in the Parisian Haute Couture Fashion industry and working for clients such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Akris, Vivienne Westwood, Universal Music, -Madame Figaro and Prestige Magazine Hong Kong. Tettamanti published his atmospheric pictures in the book “Showtime”.  www.francotettamanti.com
 
Moderation: Helge Aszmoneit, Rat für Formgebung (German Design Council)
 
Participants
The contest is open to especially talented design students of all disciplines, but especially from the fashion and textile design areas.
Students of full age, currently enrolled in their fourth semester or higher are entitled to participate. At time of application you have to be registered at an european university or fashion school or you need to pass in a master thesis from 2016 or 2017. Students from outside europe may also participate. There are special regulations for them (see below).
Groups containing students from the fourth semester and higher, may also include younger students.
Final projects, theses and dissertations, as well as bachelor and masters projects can also be submitted if they correspond to the task and were created in 2016 or 2017. Designs shall not have been already published.
Works can be submitted by individuals, interdisciplinary teams (particularly encouraged) and/or in collaborations with companies.
 
Today, demands applied to design tend to be so high that it is almost impossible for a single person to fulfill them all. Individual students/designers may ask for help from other contributors, such as colleagues from other areas of study for segments of the project such as text, graphics, photos, etc. However, if additional persons contribute this fact has to be clearly identified in the project, such as in the imprint. SDBI will put a particular focus on the fact whether the designer maintains a clearly recognizable “Creative Leadership” role, basically carrying the responsibility for the overall result of the project.
 
The entries shall be created specifically for this contest. (Exception: Works presented at the home university)
Students from non-European countries are also eligible to enter; however, there are special conditions. Please be advised that due to limited funding SDBI cannot reimburse any expenses e.g. for transport of project materials or insurance to and from the competition (including applicable customs duties). Award winners will receive a one-time flat reimbursement for travel (photo shoot 200 Euros for individuals or groups, award ceremony and exhibition 400 Euros for individuals and 800 Euros for groups). All additional expenses are the responsibility of the winner. We recommend to investigate all related costs in advance, and to pursue a sponsor, if possible.
 
Prizes
The award purse totals 200,000 Euro and is valued with the following prizes:
– Photo shoots with the renowned fashion photographer Franco P. Tettamanti. All winners may use these pictures for their websites.
– A graphically sophisticated catalogue
– Professional media work, incl. an own microsite on www.sdbi.de.
– Awards ceremony
– Participation in the network of SDBI and in the mentoring program
– Cash prizes of 10,000 Euro
The European Fashion Award FASH 2017 will be presented in two categories.
Students: 1st Prize: 2,500 Euro / 2nd Prize: 1,500 Euro / 3rd Prize: 1,000 Euro
Graduates: 1st Prize: 2,500 Euro / 2nd Prize: 1,500 Euro / 3rd Prize: 1,000 Euro
The jury reserves the right to present special mentions. These feature a cash prize of 500 Euro.
 
The jury reserves the right to distribute prizes in a different manner as shown in the competition information.
 
See for more information and entry form>

German Fashion Industry Foundation>