Wenji Wu

Night Terrors

I:C 10x10x10 Award 2026
I:C OTB Award 2026
I:C Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana Award 2026
I:C Modateca Deanna Award 2026

Since childhood, designer Wenji Wu’s sleeping dreams have been inhabited by terrifying monsters wreaking havoc in his imaginary world. Fortunately there is also an armoured terracotta king who protects him like a guardian angel. In recent years he has painted his nightmare visions to try and understand their significance. This is reminiscent of psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Karl Jung’s redaction of his “Liber Novus” where he depicted and confronted his own subconscious. Jung’s research suggests that understanding our dreams is a question of balance: the monsters may be repressed facets of our personality which manifest in sleep rather than integrating in our waking persona. Wenji’s collection brings them to the garments, exploring the duality between the monsters and the armoured terracotta knight - beautifully rendered through knitwear - to balance out the two forces.

I:C 10x10x10 Award 2026

All winners will receive:

a 10 days creative Residency
10 months feature in the “RISE AND SHINE” Exhibition at ITS Arcademy – Museum of Art in Fashion
€10,000

I:C OTB Award 2026

The OTB Group will offer a day of training visits to OTB’s headquarters, where young designers will be able to see first-hand the stages involved in creating the Group’s brands’ garments and accessories, as well as a mentoring and coaching session on best practices in sustainability with OTB Group experts.

Motivation

We had the pleasure of welcoming the young ITS designers to the headquarters of OTB Group and Diesel. We shared with them our commitment to sustainability, and it was inspiring to see how much curiosity they showed towards these topics. At the same time, engaging with young designers from all over the world brought energy, freshness, and diverse perspectives, continuously enriching and nurturing our company’s DNA. Moments like these represent a true exchange: on one hand, the opportunity to share what we do every day in our work; on the other, the chance to offer insights, suggestions, and a concrete vision of what it means to build one’s own path in the fashion industry. During the visit, the designers had direct contact with the Diesel denim world, visiting the brand’s headquarters, its creative spaces, and the historical archive, which holds over 80,000 research and collection pieces from 1978 to today. Sharing our passion and the story of this brand with curious and passionate young talents is always an opportunity for mutual inspiration.

I:C Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana Award 2026

Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana Award offers a scholarship worth €5,000 awarded based on the designer’s creativity with particular attention to the theme of sustainability, in its broadest meanings of product sustainability, respect for the environment and social sustainability.

I:C Modateca Deanna Award 2026

Modateca Deanna offers all-round knitwear mentorship, placing the creative in direct contact with companies, knitwear manufacturers, spinning mills and all workshops that may be useful for the development of their projects. Depending on needs and requests, visits and meetings may be organised to explore further the topics agreed on with key Italian manufacturing, industrial and artisanal organisations.

Motivation

For the personal and creative journey around knitwear. Wenji has explored different techniques balancing tradition, yarns and colours translating his creative process into a convincing collection that is both pleasantly graphic and perfectly executed.

Project selection motivation

Wenji’s collection is a perfect mix of tradition and innovation. His creative process has led him into developing a contemporary dressing style that perfectly combines the historical traditions with present-day fashion aesthetics that appeals to his generation. The use of well known knit techniques with an unique approach leads to an entirely new, fresh approach to knitwear.