PCA Vision 2021

Taking it Global

Our emphasis for the PCIAW® Awards 2021 is our celebration of the worldwide diversity of the Professional Clothing industry.

The textile and garment industry is huge, stretching the breadth of the globe. The PCIAW® Awards continue to strive to celebrate all facets of the professional clothing industry and never more so than now.

We’re therefore taking PCA VISION worldwide and opening the contest up to students around the globe from chosen universities. We will be inviting universities from these countries to take part in PCA VISION 2021, with five universities also invited from the UK.

The Contest

Our international quest is to find the student that will re-design the face of professional clothing. PCA VISION 2021 is an exciting creative challenge for students of fashion, textiles and design.
The winner will be the student who grasps this golden opportunity to express their unique creative flair in the most original way. Students will have designs and ideas that are wonderfully imaginative whilst also commercially realistic and practical.

We are looking for designs that could become a reality and be produced as fit-for-purpose.
PCA VISION 2021 will support the aspirations of all our students, helping them to develop their abilities and talents in creative and practical ways. As well as providing a springboard for future professional development, the contest can also provide valuable contributions for students as they work towards their academic qualification.

The Vision

The world of workwear is one of the most challenging industries for any designer, involving the creation of thousands of garments to be worn by people across a vast spectrum of their working life. The garments, for some workers, may need to be fashionable and contemporary – airlines, trainlines, hospitality workwear and many more. Or, they may need to be focused entirely on safety to protect the worker from highly hazardous conditions. Above all, both must be functional, durable and fit for purpose.

PCA VISION 2021 asks students to share their own personal vision of such types of clothing that can be worn for a specific job role in a sector of their choice. The goal is to deliver impressive and innovative designs that truly meet the needs of the worker – male, female or non-gender conforming – and will help them succeed at their job at no cost to their safety or comfort.

The brief will ask students to put forward their design vision with ideas and actual executions of their innovative and practical designs. We ask that they take full advantage of the latest advances in technology, fabrics and fastenings (using the sponsors fabrics, zips and fasteners). We will give you a list of sponsors who will supply you with all the materials you will require.

The Design Brief

An Overview

Design a range for a specific job role in any industry that falls into one of these three clothing categories – Corporatewear, Workwear or Personal Protective Equipment.

You must specify the end user’s job role and produce innovative, functional garment solutions designed to be worn by both men, women or non-gender-conforming people at work. These designs will meet the needs of the worker and can help them to perform their job to the best of their ability in their individual work environment.

For the first time, initial design submissions must be submitted online. Due to the international nature of the contest, for both students and judges, this year, the only designs that will be considered are those that are uploaded through our online submission portal.

Submission Requirements

The requirements for submission to the PCA VISION 2021 contest are listed below. The design entries submitted online by participating universities/colleges must include all requirements.
If any entries are incomplete or do not address the below requirements, we will not be able to submit them to the first judging panel.

• • Design drawings show both male, female or non-gender-conforming versions of the outfit/concept.
  • Details of the job role, industry and work environment where the design would be worn/used.
  • Explanation of how the design is fit for purpose/functional.
  • Suggested fabric, trim selections and explanation of how and why these work in the design concept.

We will accept links to videos showcasing your design submissions including your storyboard.

Categories

Students may choose to enter by submitting designs for work clothing in any ONE of the three categories below:

• • Corporatewear
  • Workwear
  • PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

After three submissions have been put forward, the tutor will not be able to enter any more submissions. All entries must be submitted through the university. The university must submit their Top Three only.

Note to Head of Fashion & Design:

We will NOT accept any more than three entries per university.
We will only be accepting 3 students from each university – one for each of the below categories. All submissions will be judged equally and the choice of category will not affect the judges’ final decision.

Corporatewear
This term describes clothing that is the ‘official uniform’ of an organisation and is branded. For example, items worn by members of staff working in the banking, travel and hospitality sectors.

Workwear
This is a highly diverse sector of work clothing. It’s worn in industries across the globe, from factories to construction sites, agriculture to aerospace engineering, haulage to hospital services. In short, wherever there’s skilled technical work to be done, you’ll find workwear.

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)
This refers to clothing worn for protection and visibility in hazardous environments. For example, the oil and gas industry, chemical processing, emergency services such as police and fire departments or road and rail maintenance. Its primary function is to ensure personal safety wherever there is a risk of serious injury from fire, gas, high temperatures or exposure to harmful substances.

The Deadline Dates

The deadline for the online submissions for the first round of the contest is:
16th December 2019

Designers that are shortlisted for the second round of the contest will be notified by:
31st January 2020

For the second round, students must make up a sample outfit. All garments must be submitted to arrive with the contest organisers by the final deadline of:
24th April 2020

Final judging day for the PCA VISION and PCIAW® Awards is:
12th May 2020

Winners will be announced at the prestigious PCIAW® Awards at the Radisson Blu Edwardian, London Heathrow on:
24th March 2021

Please note:
The Design Brief must be adhered to by all students, universities and colleges.

Judging

If your design then adheres to all following submission requirements, it will then pass to the first round of judging held by our expert panel. Entrants can expect that their design work will be reviewed by the judging panel against the following criteria:

1. Utilisation of fabrics, trims and textile technology in the work garment design
2. Overall functionality of the garment design for the worker and particular work environment specified
3. Commercial viability of design in the professional clothing industry
4. Level of innovation in the design and its potential for changing the style/approach to garments used in the job role specified.

Our Headline Sponsor

The 2021 PCIAW® Summit and Awards will be in partnership with Milliken® & Company. For more details please read the PCA VISION PDF brochure.

Awards and Prizes

As well as honouring students’ creativity and design talents in a showcase as part of the prestigious PCIAW® Awards, there are cash prizes on offer for the winners.
All designs submitted will be reviewed by a panel of expert judges against the criteria for each of the awards on offer.

One winner will be selected for each award:

The PCA Vision Student Design Award 2021 will be presented to the overall winner.
This is the student designer who in the opinion of the judges has the design that best meets the needs of their selected worker/job as shown through their design submission, supporting information and sample outfit.

• • The Milliken Award: £1000
  • The PCA VISION Student Design Award: £1000
  • Best University Award: £500

Confirmation of further company sponsored awards will follow specific award guidelines and confirmation of prize money in the following. All of these awards will be announced by PCIAW® and may be subject to change.

Contact

For any further enquires please get in contact with louisejoy@pciaw.org
Feel free to also give the office a ring on +44 (0)1908 411 415.

Terms & Conditions

To read the PCA VISION 2021 Terms & Conditions please click HERE.