FIT SPORT DESIGN AWARDS RECOGNIZE’S THE INDUSTRY’S MOST INNOVATIVE SPORTS EQUIPMENT AND APPAREL.
Our judges have an obsession with comfort, novelty, and enhanced performance design. Winning the FIT Design Awards will set you apart from the competition, bring media attention, new collaboration opportunities, and help guide customers to purchase your products — a FIT win is a true badge of quality. Whether for your design credentials or a new sustainable concept, this program is an independent endorsement and an outstanding indicator of success!
The FIT Design Awards is looking for ground-breaking sports innovations, sustainable products, performance-enhancing solutions that provide comfort for athletes or everyday players, and practices that have a positive environmental impact. The program is open to companies/brands, independent designers, and also to emerging talents.
Selected by the FIT Awards Jury, four winning titles are awarded each year to professionals and students:
• Sport Apparel Design of the Year – Professional
• Sports Gear Design of the Year – Professional
• Emerging Sports Apparel Designer of the Year – Student
• Emerging Sports Gear Designer of the Year – Student
The FIT Sport Design Awards accept applications for gear and apparel designed in the last five years, either as a concept, prototype, or a product already in-store.
Selected by our esteemed jury of sport gear designers, textile and clothing experts, consultants, and industry leaders, the annual winners will receive the coveted FIT Awards trophy, extensive publicity showcasing their designs to an international audience, a badge of achievement, and more…
The Emerging Sports Apparel Designer of the Year and the Emerging Sports Gear Designer of the Year will receive two comprehensive masterclasses centered around the theme of “Culture – Impact and Purpose”, aiming at expanding the perspective of emerging winners in design. Jury member and renowned sneaker industry figure boasting over 37 years of experience, Sean Williams the co-founder of the SOLEcial Studies in NYC will also hold a “Creative Council” session to review the portfolios of these two young talents, discuss their design goals, and guide them in their next career steps.
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FIT DESIGN AWARDS – LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Launched in 2023, the Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes Apparels and Product Designers and other professionals in the Sport Design Industry, whose contributions over their entire careers are inspirational. Dedicated to professionals with a minimum of 40 years of experience in the industry with outstanding performance, the Award will be the highest honor awarded in the Sports design field. The FIT Sport Design Awards team will be receiving nominations from the jury members directly.
There is no fee to nominate a designer, all applications need to be completed by August 31st, 2023. The announcement will be at the end of September 2023.
To nominate for the FIT Lifetime Achievement Award, please email info@fitdesignawards.com with the following materials:
- The designer’s full name and contact details
- Current Company Information
- Headshot – Portrait
- Nominee Bio (400 to 500 words)
- Description of his/her career and roles in the sport industry (700 – 900 words)
- A list of 10 of the most significant sport designs and projects the nominee has been working on.
- Series of 5-7 images of work/projects
- A list of other involvements in the industry such as academic, associative, mentorship…and more
ELIGIBILITY
The FIT Sport Design Awards competition is open to anyone aged 18+ residing anywhere in the world. Professional entries (Companies, brands, Independent Designers) will be judged against other professionals and student entries against other students.
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JUDGING CRITERIA
The evaluation process for entries to the FIT Sport Design Awards is based on various judging criteria. These are constantly adapted and updated, in response to new technical, social, economic, and ecological requirements. These criteria are not comprehensive and not all criteria are applied to each project, they simply provide an orientation framework and basis for judging — which is complemented by each individual juror’s expertise and socio-cultural background.
Each member of the Jury is passionately committed to providing a fair evaluation. Jury members are assigned categories based on their specific background and expertise. Our jury members cast their votes individually and anonymously — as opposed to in a group forum — to ensure unbiased and impartial judging. Jury votes are tallied and the highest overall scoring entries are selected as winners.
The judging criteria include the following:
- Aesthetics — form, shape, color, texture, finishing, the material used, etc.
- Innovation — does the apparel/gear provide something new to the market or supplement/improve an existing product?
- Practicality/Functionality — ease of cleaning, safety, repairs, maintenance etc.
- Durability — the quality and longevity of the product, is it adaptable to extreme conditions?
- Impact — the benefit delivered to the athlete, does it increase performance, or increase comfort, etc?
- Ecological compatibility — potential environmental and/or ecological impact, local produce, repair circle, materials used.
- Emotional quotient — in addition to fulfilling its practical purpose, does the apparel/gear create a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction?
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SCORING BOARD
The FIT Sport Design Awards use a scoring system between 10-100 points. All submissions are viewed and voted on anonymously to ensure unbiased and fair judging. Based on the above criteria, the jurors will award points for the individual aspects of each entry.
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ENTRY FEES
- Company/Brand: CHF 250 incl. Swiss VAT (approx.: US$270)
- Same entry in additional categories at a 50% discount
- Independent Designer: CHF 100 incl. Swiss VAT (approx.: US$107)
- Same entry in additional categories at a 50% discount
- Student: CHF 50 incl. Swiss VAT (approx.: US$54)
- Same entry in additional categories at a 50% discount
No Further Fees: Unlike some other design awards and competitions, there are no further fees for winning the award and everything listed in the winner’s benefits will be provided free of charge.
DEADLINES
- 15% Early Bird discount until 30th of September 2023
- 10% Extended Early Bird discount until 30th of November 2023
- Regular Deadline: January 31st, 2024
- Final Deadline: March,1st then a 10% late fee will apply till the 31st of March 2024.
- The Program will close on April 14th, 2024.
