The morning of October 20th 2025 saw the grand opening of Jiangxi Fashion Institute’s International Fashion Art Festival and the 29th “Runhua Award” – Belt and Road University Student Fashion Design and Skills Competition. Over 3,000 Chinese and international guests attended the event.
Among the attended celebrities were Shi Ke, Vice Governor of Jiangxi Province and Director of the China Vocational Education Society; Xiong Shengwen, former Vice Governor of Jiangxi Province; Chen Dapeng, Vice President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council and President of the China National Garment Association; Wang Haitao, Deputy Secretary-General of the Jiangxi Provincial People’s Government; Wang Bin, First-Rank Inspector of the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Finance and President of the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Yang Jin’e, Second-Rank Inspector of the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology; Tu Anbo, Full-time Vice President of the Jiangxi Provincial Friendship Association under the Jiangxi Provincial Foreign Affairs Office; Huang Xiaohua, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the China Private Education Association and President of the Jiangxi Private Education Association; Xu Jianxing, former Deputy Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of Jiangxi Province; Ding Chaoke, Vice Chairman of the Yichun Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Yu Chongwen, Director of the Textile Major Teaching Steering Committee under the Ministry of Education and Professor of Donghua University; Ding Xin, Director of the Textile Major Engineering Education Certification Committee under the Ministry of Education and Professor of Donghua University; Tu Yanping, Chairman of the Jiangxi Fashion Institute, Lin Jingping, Party Secretary of the Institute, and Xue Jiabao, President of the Institute.
Representatives from foreign universities and international students were invited to the opening ceremony, too, including those from France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Russia. The ceremony was presided over by Li Baojun, of Vice President of the Institute and its Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee.
Xue Jiabao, President of Jiangxi Institute of Fashion Technology, held the welcome speech. He pointed out that after 29 years of development, the International Fashion Art Festival hosted by Jiangxi Fashion Institute has grown from an on-campus competition to a major platform for university students along the Belt and Road countries. Offering a cultural exchange platform, the competition showcases the talents home and abroad, and has evolved into an incubator that integrates industry, academia, and research, fostering the growth and progress for university students.
Mr. Xue said that it has become a prominent voice for Jiangxi Fashion Institute to the domestic and international fashion industry while promoting Chinese clothing culture. Furthermore, the participation of faculty and students from over 60 domestic and 30 international universities will make this Festival a feast of imagination and creativity. Due to the Festival, “Jiangxi Fashion Brand” has been gaining international recognition rapidly.
Dr. Christine, President of the International Tailoring School of Paris, France, delivered a speech on behalf of the international institutions. She pointed out that the 2025 International Fashion Art Festival by Jiangxi Fashion Institute with the theme of “Harmony” and the Belt and Road Initiative as a link, will provide a platform for cultural and inspirational exchange between Chinese and international fashion schools, embodying the true meaning of borderless dialogue and co-creation in the fashion industry.
Dr. Christine highly praised Jiangxi I Fashion Institute’s remarkable achievements in cultivating high-quality and innovative fashion talent. She stated that this not only solidifies the cooperation between the two institutions but also serves as an important practice for the industry to cultivate young talents who are “deeply rooted in local culture while possessing a global perspective.” She sincerely hopes that under the guidance of the Belt and Road Initiative, the International Tailoring School of Paris, France, and Jiangxi Fashion Institute will continue to deepen their cooperation and jointly promote the development of fashion education.
Chen Dapeng, Vice President of the China National Textile and Apparel Council and President of the China National Garment Association, said in his speech that the event witnessed the glorious moment of the final round of the 8th National Clothing Pattern Maker Vocational Skills Competition, parallel to the grand opening the 2025 Jiangfu International Fashion Art Festival. He emphasized that China’s textile and apparel industry is closely centered on the new dimensions of high-qualitied, value-added, and culture-enriched development in science and technology, fashion design, green development, and health promotion, aiming at a leap from “manufacturing” to “creation”, and from products to brands.
Mr. Chen expressed his hope that through the comprehensive synergy between the Pattern Maker Competition and the Fashion Art Festival, further professional refinement and internal development will be achieved. Together, they shall build an educational ecosystem that integrates industry and education with collaboration between schools and enterprises, opening up the value chain from talent cultivation, technology research and development, to the innovation and commercialization of the high-end, smart and green development for the future of the textile and apparel industry.
At the opening ceremony, the awards for the 8th National Clothing Pattern Maker Vocational Skills Competition was delivered. The competition was co-organized by the China National Garment Association and Bosideng International Holdings Co., Ltd., and co-sponsored by the Jiangxi Fashion Institute. 107 outstanding contestants from 19 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities 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.
In her comments, the chief judge, Ms. Yang Chuan, stated that the contestants demonstrated solid professional skills and innovative thinking in promoting the standardization and professionalization of pattern making techniques.
During the ceremony, the CHEN.1988 Industrial College’s product launch brought the event to a climax. The College presented the audience with a highly creative fashion visual 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.
Forty-four original works by faculty and students were showcased, the fruitful results of the deep integration of fashion education and industrial practice. The college strives to empower both original design and industrial application. The works showcased aesthetic appeal and market-oriented approaches, offering a vivid example of industry-education collaboration.
The week-long festival, running from October 20th to 25th, has been featuring a rich program and numerous highlights. The program includes the 29th Runhua Award series, which encourages young talents to showcase their creativity; the future-oriented Liberal Arts Forum and International Academic Forum, which fostered intellectual wisdom; the Belt and Road Fashion Design and Skills Competition, showcasing aesthetic creativity; and the Industry College awards presentation, art performances, trendsetting fashion shows, and the achievements of the three-college system.
After the opening ceremony, President Xue Jiabao gave interviews to various media outlets, including China Fashion, Jiangxi Radio and Television, and Textile & Apparel Weekly. He stated that “harmony” is the spiritual hallmark of Chinese civilization. This International Fashion Art Festival, themed “harmony,” upholds the concept of a “community with a shared future for mankind.” The event aims to bring together university students from Belt and Road countries in harmony, inspiration, and creativity. It encourages design concepts from diverse civilizations, cultures, and ethnicities to shine on the same runway, injecting a continuous stream of vitality into the fashion world. As the next step, the school will anchor the core direction of culture empowering fashion to deepen international cooperation, strengthen innovation and exploration, and inject more Jiangfu strength into the high-quality fashion industry and China’s textile power.
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