Artificial intelligence is profoundly reshaping the design paradigm of sportswear, driving the industry’s transition from traditional experience-driven methods to a digital model characterized by data intelligence and global collaboration. The 3rd Global Sportswear Design Award (GSDA)—jointly initiated by Tsinghua University and ANTA Group and hosted by the Tsinghua University–ANTA Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion—is systematically advancing its international cooperation and educational integration through a collaborative path of "Global Presentations, Co-constructed Curricula, and Technical Platform Support." Simultaneously, ANTA Group’s self-developed “Linglong” AI design large model has been officially integrated into the competition's website. This marks the first time an AI large model has been systematically incorporated into a global design competition system, not only elevating the event's digitalization but also ushering in a new era of global collaboration and technological fusion in sportswear design.
Building a Cross-Border and Interdisciplinary Innovation Network Covering 26 Institutions Worldwide
The 3rd Global Sportswear Design Award has achieved a significant transformation in its international promotion strategy. Departing from the traditional model focused solely on competition promotion, this edition emphasizes deep integration with university teaching systems and research practices, aiming to transform the competition platform into a long-term mechanism for educational and research cooperation. Centered on core themes and research directions such as "Technological Innovation," "Sustainability," "Sports Fashion," and "Artificial Intelligence," the Tsinghua University–ANTA Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion has leveraged its platform advantages to establish deep partnerships with 26 domestic and international institutions. These include Imperial College London, Tsinghua University, London College of Fashion, Chelsea College of Arts, Loughborough University, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Hunan University, Jiangnan University, and Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. Spanning multiple disciplines such as design, engineering, and materials, this initiative has built a cross-border, interdisciplinary collaborative innovation network, injecting new momentum into the innovative development of the global sportswear industry.
The competition innovatively transforms its activities into normalized teaching and research resources, with cooperation spanning across curriculum integration, international workshops, and joint research initiatives. By introducing real-world challenges and industrial demands from the competition into classroom instruction, students can engage in practical design research under the guidance of mentors. International presentations and workshops facilitate cross-cultural collaboration among faculty and students from diverse national and cultural backgrounds, while joint research projects accelerate the application and transformation of cutting-edge technologies within the sportswear sector.
By systematically integrating competition content, industrial needs, and pioneering technology into the daily teaching and research practices of universities, the Award is progressively building a sustainable and continuous international collaborative network. The establishment of this mechanism not only provides in-depth and sustained support for participating faculty and students but also builds a long-term cooperation platform for cultivating innovative talent in the global sportswear industry. Through the close integration of industry, academia, and research, students gain early exposure to frontier industry issues, faculty can align teaching with real-world projects, and enterprises secure a steady stream of innovative solutions and talent reserves—forming a win-win virtuous cycle.
Moving forward, the Global Sportswear Design Award will continue to deepen the breadth and depth of its collaboration with global universities, exploring the establishment of a more comprehensive international collaborative innovation mechanism to contribute to the innovative development and talent cultivation of the global sportswear industry.
“Linglong” AI design large model Empowers Intelligent Design Upgrades
Building upon the established mechanisms of global presentations and curriculum co-construction, the 3rd edition of the competition introduces robust technical platform support tailored for sportswear design. The “Linglong” AI design large model, independently developed by ANTA Group, has been integrated into the official competition website（https://design.anta.com/works） and relevant educational platforms. This represents the world’s first systematic inclusion of an AI large model within a design competition framework. Leveraging ANTA’s extensive accumulation of R&D data, material craftsmanship knowledge, and design expertise, the model focuses on key stages such as material selection, structural construction, functional system integration, and scheme iteration. It provides intelligent assistance ranging from concept generation to visual presentation and feasibility verification, driving the evolution of the design process from an experience-driven model to a collaborative paradigm enhanced by data and knowledge.
In terms of functional architecture, the Linglong Large Model addresses traditional design pain points through a four-dimensional framework:
- Variety: Multidimensional creative generation and expansion of the solution space, increasing creative richness by 400%.
- Efficiency: Rapid translation of sketches into high-definition product renderings and instantaneous colorway generation, significantly compressing iteration cycles.
- Quality: Integration of pattern design and printing previews, increasing the selection rate of proposals by 30% and reducing the risk of execution discrepancies.
- Precision: High-consistency transmission of brand DNA, accurately reproducing ANTA’s material textures and demonstrating a profound understanding of brand characteristics.
Crucially, the "Linglong" AI model is not utilized passively as a standalone tool. Instead, it is woven into the pedagogical flow of courses and workshops through a path of "Introductory Presentation – Workshop Deepening – Curriculum Embedding." This supports students in completing conceptualization, deduction, and iteration under real-world industrial briefs, establishing a systematic design exploration chain from "concept" to "validation" to "iteration." Consequently, this shifts design education from a result-oriented approach to one focused on process construction.
As the "Linglong" AI model continues to be applied, competition content will more consistently and stably enter the realms of teaching and research. This further facilitates the tight synergy between competitions, curricula, and industrial practice, providing long-term platform support for global design talent to engage in international design research and industrial innovation. Simultaneously, it offers a replicable and sustainable model and methodological reference for international cooperation and innovative development in the field of sportswear design.
Promoting International Exchange and Collaborative Innovation in the Sportswear Industry
After two editions of practice and exploration, the Global Sportswear Design Award (GSDA) has evolved into an influential international platform in the field of sportswear innovation. This year’s competition has established multiple overseas divisions, with participation scale and internationalization levels further surpassing previous sessions.
From June 2025 to March 2026, the 3rd Global Sportswear Design Award is conducting global presentation activities and an open call for submissions. Upholding its positioning of "Tech-Innovation and Design-Driven," the competition gathers sportswear design achievements from around the world, catalyzes innovation and cross-regional cooperation in the sports fashion industry, and further propels international exchange and collaborative innovation within the sector.
The Award will continue to deepen the breadth and depth of its partnerships with global universities, exploring more comprehensive mechanisms for international collaborative innovation to contribute to the innovative development and talent cultivation of the global sportswear industry. We sincerely invite participants passionate about innovative sportswear design to scan the code and register—let’s embark on this journey of innovation together!
Tsinghua University–ANTA (China) Co., Ltd. Joint Research Center for Sports Fashion
