Festival gives fashion a sporting chance

Over the past nine years, it has trained more than 300 designers who have served at major sportswear brands nationwide, such as Anta, Li Ning, Xtep, 361°, Jordan, Kappa and Particle Fever, among others, laying an essential foundation for the development of China's sports fashion industry.

Jia Ronglin, the principal of the institute, said at the opening ceremony, "The report of the 20th Party Congress points out that we should adhere to the people-centered creation orientation, bring more excellent works that enhance the people's spiritual power, and encourage creative transformation and innovative development of traditional Chinese culture.

"The Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology will carry on exploring how traditional costume culture can be combined with contemporary fashion design and contemporary lifestyle, which is also an important part of our education."

The festival this year is made up of five sections — shows, exhibitions, theory discussions, competitions and gatherings, with 32 diverse activities running until November.