Yi Ding

Faded Paper

I:C 10x10x10 Award 2026
I:C OTB Award 2026

Traditional Chinese paper cutting in folk culture was historically used as a patriarchal tool to repress and limit women’s aspirations. Traditional motifs symbolized abundance through fertility, showing childbearing as the only way for rural women to ensure family status and a secure place in society. Yi Ding has reconstructed this craft through marvelously engineered knitwear, inventing a suspended jacquard knitting technique to achieve the three-dimensional “flying paper” effect, to represent the independent women that inspire her today, and the shackles they have cut through. The use of lace motifs is a homage to the courage and determination of her mother who runs a lingerie store in their hometown, working day and night to ensure financial independence. In Ding’s collection tradition gets to be preserved and reinvented at the same time.

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.

Project selection motivation

The research and the creative process expressed by Yi Ding has been deep, consistent and very exciting. She delivered an outstanding collection that shows a clear understanding of knitwear, the love for research and innovation honouring the foundations of the craft itself by focusing on details, volume, quality and ease.