Tsinghua University x ANTA Group x the Central Academy of Fine Arts: Special Exchange Event for the Global Sportswear Design Award
On December 2, 2025, the joint university special event for the third Global Sportswear Design Award (GSDA), co-initiated by Tsinghua University and ANTA Group and hosted by the Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion, was held at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA). This event was co-organized by Tsinghua University, ANTA Group, and CAFA, with the core concepts of "university-enterprise collaboration innovation" and "competition-driven development." It aimed to establish a dialogue mechanism for cross-disciplinary academic exchange and the deep industry-university-research integration.
Photo credit: CAFA
Guests present at the event included: Prof. WANG Ziyuan, Secretary of the General Party Branch of the School of Design, CAFA; ZHAO Chao, Director of the Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion, Vice President of the Tsinghua (Qingdao) Academy of Arts and Science Innovation Research (TASA), and Professor at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (AADTHU); Prof. HAN Tao, Vice Dean of the School of Design, CAFA; Mr. YANG Jianxiang, Director of Innovation and Research Management at the Science and Technology Innovation Department of ANTA Group; XIAO Wenling, Professor at the AADTHU; Prof. WANG Dongsheng, a researcher and Ph.D. supervisor at the China National Academy of Painting; Mr. YANG Gen, Director of the Cultural and Creative Studio at Beijing Youth Daily; Ms. CHENG Shuxin, Director of the Innovative Design Program of the School of Design, CAFA; Ms. YU Yimeng, Director of the Fashion Design Program of the School of Design, CAFA; Ms. CAO Xiaofei, Project Manager at the Science and Technology Innovation Department of ANTA Group; and GUO Shida, a lecturer at Beijing University of Technology and a distinguished researcher at the Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion. CHEN Zhiya, a researcher at the Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion, presided over the event. Over a hundred students from the CAFA and industry representatives participated in the event, engaging in discussions on cutting-edge topics in sportswear design and presenting new academic perspectives and practical pathways for promoting the industry's innovation and development and cultivating young design talents.
Photo credit: CAFA
Art and Design · Cross-Disciplinary Responses
As a significant academic institution in the field of art and design in China, the School of Design, CAFA, has long been dedicated to extending disciplinary boundaries and innovating educational paradigms, continuously fostering an open and interdisciplinary academic ecosystem. Through the core promotional part of the third GSDA, CAFA leveraged its profound artistic and academic heritage and forward-looking educational philosophy to offer a high-level academic exchange platform for this industry-university-research collaboration dialogue.
In his opening remarks, Prof. WANG Ziyuan, Secretary of the General Party Branch of the School of Design, CAFA, pointed out that sportswear design is a typical interdisciplinary field that integrates functionality, innovation, ergonomics, sustainable development concepts, and aesthetic value. The organization of this competition exchange event has established an important communication bridge between academic research and industrial practice, while creating a practical learning opportunity for students at CAFA.
Prof. WANG Ziyuan, Secretary of the General Party Branch of the School of Design, CAFA
Photo credit: CAFA
Representing the competition organizer, ZHAO Chao, Director of the Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion, Vice President of TASA, and Professor at AADTHU, elaborated on the academic value and industrial significance of the competition from the perspective of industry-university-research collaboration innovation. He noted that the GSDA, as a prominent platform in this field, provides crucial support for young students to connect with international academic resources and enhance their professional capabilities. Moreover, he expressed gratitude to ANTA Group for its continuous support of the competition and emphasized that, as an industry leader, ANTA Group's deep involvement fully demonstrates the important value of the industry-university-research cooperation model in driving design innovation and talent cultivation.
ZHAO Chao, Director of the Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion, and Professor at AADTHU
Photo credit: CAFA
Industry-Education Integration · Collaborative Empowerment
Industry-education integration is not only a structural innovation in educational models but also a vital mechanism for driving sustained industry development. During the subsequent thematic sharing session, experts and scholars from the industry and academia sectors conducted multidimensional dialogues on the innovative pathways of sportswear, interdisciplinary methodologies in design education, and cultural evolution trends in sports fashion. They jointly explored how deep industry-university-research integration can empower design innovation and provide enduring momentum for industrial development.
YANG Jianxiang, Director of Innovation and Research Management at the Science and Technology Innovation Department of ANTA Group, delivered a presentation titled "ANTA Group's Open Innovation," systematically elaborating on ANTA's practical explorations and typical cases in technological R&D, material innovation, and product transformation, showcasing the innovative pathways of a leading domestic enterprise, and offering students participating in the competition a valuable industrial perspective. In her presentation titled "Islands of Innovation: Design-Driven Innovation Practices," CHENG Shuxin, Director of the Innovative Design Program of the School of Design, CAFA, analyzed how to construct interdisciplinary innovation carriers through design thinking. She proposed advocating for a flexible and supportive interdisciplinary teaching model in design education to fully stimulate students' subjective initiative and diverse interest orientations. XIAO Wenling, Professor at AADTHU, stated in his presentation titled "Two Shifts" that while the era of standardized production has spawned fashion and design systems, it has also brought challenges in terms of sustainability, such as inventory overhang. Meanwhile, non-standardized production methods, leveraging advancements in artificial intelligence technology, are driving the realization of new production models like mass customization. This trend will reshape the underlying logic of design creation and the direction of industrial development.
This thematic sharing session facilitated in-depth exchanges between the academic and industrial sectors, providing practical development pathways for talent cultivation and frontier exploration in the field of sports fashion.
YANG Jianxiang, Director of Innovation and Research Management at the Science and Technology Innovation Department of ANTA Group
Photo credit: CAFA
CHENG Shuxin, Director of the Innovative Design Program of the School of Design, CAFA
Photo credit: CAFA
XIAO Wenling, Professor at AADTHU
Photo credit: CAFA
Competition Rules · Authoritative Interpretation
Currently, the sportswear industry is facing multiple challenges, including technological innovation, upgrading consumption structures, and sustainability. Against this backdrop, how to achieve resource integration and lead development directions through design has become a core issue of concern for both the academic and industrial sectors. The Global Sportswear Design Award (GSDA), as an influential international professional competition in this field, is gradually evolving into a key platform connecting creativity, technology, and industry.
During the event, Prof. ZHAO Chao provided a systematic explanation of this competition's background, positioning, and competition format. He emphasized that the competition is committed to continuously building an integrated innovative ecosystem of "industry-university-research-application." It is open to global designers, faculty and students in universities, industrial innovation teams, and design enthusiasts, inviting submissions of diverse works covering footwear and apparel accessories. The competition jury will conduct comprehensive evaluations based on aesthetic value, creative expression, functional realization, social responsibility, and other dimensions. Winners will not only have the opportunity to receive prize money but also the potential to realize the industrial transformation of their design works.
ZHAO Chao, Director of the Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion, and Professor at AADTHU
Photo credit: CAFA
To guide innovation directions and align with industry trends, the third GSDA has specifically launched submissions around the following four thematic areas:
• 科动极境｜Tech-Driven Extremes
Focusing on material science innovation and performance integration design in sportswear
Video credit: Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion
• 自然共生｜Natural Symbiosis
Emphasizing the application of eco-friendly materials and sustainable design concepts in outdoor sportswear
Video credit: Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion
• 多元文脉｜Multicultural Heritage
Exploring cross-border integration pathways for cultural symbols, artistic expression, and sportswear brands
Video credit: Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion
• 智能生成｜Smart Motion Generation
Showcasing the application potential and future value of AI-generated content in sport fashion creation
Video credit: Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion
Innovative Exploration · Collaborative Journey
Witnessed by all attending guests, the special event for the third GSDA in CAFA was officially launched. This launch marks a further step in deepening and institutionalizing the tripartite collaborative mechanism of "higher education institutions-enterprise entities-competition platforms."
Photo credit: CAFA
In the future, Tsinghua University, ANTA Group, and various partner institutions both domestically and internationally will continue to build a collaborative innovation ecosystem centered on technological innovation and design-driven development, bridging key links such as talent cultivation, forward-looking research, and industrial transformation. The competition will also continue to drive the integration of resources across universities and disciplines, striving to forge an open, collaborative, and sustainable industry-university-research collaboration system, and establishing a closed-loop mechanism of "promoting education, research, and industry through competition." It aims to reserve young talents and innovative momentum for the sustained development of China's and even the global sportswear industry, assisting China's sports fashion industry in achieving steady advancement in the global value chain.
Photo credit: Tsinghua University-ANTA Group Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion
