ITS 2019 is Sincerely True. Young designers, simply be yourself!

In a time when we compete against each other screaming, when we project our own image filtered in a totally artificial manner, when we give room to misleading messages and truth becomes ineffable and confusing, ITS seems anachronistic: it invites you to come forward the midst of chaos, to muffle the noise, and to simply be yourself. To truly be yourself, because truth doesn’t need to be yelled out.

We aim at being like slow breathing, like a breath of fresh air, without filters, without irony, without the endless need to show how cool we are. ITS aims at breaking down all the walls and all the superstructures.

We aim at baring our soul, at exchanging views, without barriers. We aim at telling the beauty and the truth that each individual will bring along. The truth of the finalists, of their stories, the beauty of their creations. Sincerely True.

ITS continues to stand as the most exciting challenge for young designers worldwide. Over 17,000 have applied hoping to make it through the finals in order to access the unique opportunities it offers.

We have turned into an obsession for some, into a career turning point for others (and we have over 580 finalists to prove it). We have always searched for who never gives up, for the kind of young talents who would continue to fuel their creative minds no matter what. Strip them of everything they got, and they will still carry on producing creativity. Passion isn’t something that comes and goes, it shapes your life second by second, minute by minute… establishes who you are, what choices you will make, how you are going to make it and where you will end up. Sometimes, it gives a fuck of where you will end up, it just cares about the burning fire inside. This is who we are looking for.

The ITS Creative Archive, appreciated by international institutions such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum and the FIT Museum in New York, the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Musée Galliera in Paris, now turns into the cornerstone of what is perhaps the most important project we have ever launched, ITS Arcademy.

The word fuses Archive, Ark and Academy and it will be a global training ground for creativity, allowing professionals, companies and any curious experimenter – regardless their age – to learn and exchange experiences, brainstorm on the future of design and explore creativity through hands-on workshops tailored to their level of experience.

Fondazione CRTrieste has supported ITS since 2004 and has now decided to bring this support to an entire new level. Spaces of their historic building in Trieste, Italy – roughly 650 square mt – will be offered as the new home of the ITS Creative Archive adding value to its collection and allowing everyone to access it. They will also become the home of the Arcademy, turning them into the place where the knowledge of the Made in Italy is laid out on display.

ITS Arcademy will open in 2020. Everyone will be included. No one will be left out.

Learn everything about ITS 2019 here and discover the exciting new collaborations we have established and new opportunities we have created for the finalists who will be selected.

If you have what it takes, challenge yourself by applying your creativity.

We just ask you to stop faking it, to stop using filters, to stop hiding behind your avatars, to stop shouting when you can powerfully send a message without words. Be sincerely true, sentimental, dreamy, happy, blissful, even naive… show us who you are. And what you’ve got.