Awards that make performance visible
Consumption is increasingly taking place under ecological and social-ethical aspects – all the more so the more diverse, cost-effective and low-threshold the range of offers becomes. „Better instead of more“ is the guiding principle for decelerations, more mindful and conscious living and consumption. The European Textile Academy of Bolzano/Bozen has created the EUROPEAN TEXTILE & CRAFT AWARD to honor special achievements in contemporary and traditional crafts and art professions an their connection to the world of design. The international jury of leading experts awards pioneering achievements on innovative products taking into account sustainable criteria. The award is proof of the superior quality of the product and a sur seal of quality for buyers and consumers.
Participate in the European Textile & Craft Award
Focus on decisive values ►
Materials used and innovative natural fibers, aesthetic and functional design, processing quality and resources, environmentally friendly production as well as social-ethical aspects are essential criteria for the award.
Textile ecological criteria ►
Textile ecology is a young topic, but in view of the scarcity of resources, dynamic population development, chemical and energy use, it is gaining dramatically in importance and poses major challenges for the textile industry and customer behaviour. Solutions to the problems arising worldwide for people and the environment in the extraction, further processing, finishing, making-up and transport of textile raw materials and the textile structures that extend to the finished market product all the way up to disposal and recycling are evaluated in this context.
Sustainable processes - management systems / sustainable products ►
 |
Fibres and materials from organic agriculture |
 |
Traditional materials produced with gentle technologies and processes |
 |
Manufacturing process with low energy and water consumption |
 |
Corporate sustainability management system |
 |
Fibers and materials deriving from farming processes that do not employ cruel animal experimentation |
 |
Materials deriving from responsibly managed forests |
 |
Processes with no use of hazardous chemicals |
 |
Innovative bio-based chemical fibres |
 |
Chemical fibres produced using closed-loop processes |
 |
Materials derived from recycling |
Advantages of the award ►
An award at the European Textile & Craft Awards generates attention and increases your visibility. The 2025 ETA AWARD is proof of the superior quality of the product and a reliable seal of quality for manufacturers and customers.
- The award winners are part of a unique community and make interesting and valuable contacts.
- The ETA Award is unique in this industry environment and enjoys the highest recognition due to its expertise.
- The winners receive the “ETA Award” figure.
- The winners will receive two copies of a high-quality award certificate.
- The ETA Award is widely publicised in print, online and social media and achieves theatre communicated in social media.
- The award winners will be provided with appropriate labels for corporate communication.
- The winning entries of the award winners will be published permanently in the online gallery including the link to the award-winning company.
- The jury provides all award winners with a short statement with reasons. This will be published in the online gallery and at presentations.
- The award-winning projects and products will be exhibited at the Int. Festival of Textile Craft, Textile Art & Design from 20-22 March 2026 at Maretsch Castle in Bolzano.
Submission / Nomination ►
Apply for the 2026 European Textile & Craft Awards and convince the jury that your performance deserves to be recognised and awarded. Admitted are the manufacturing industry, designers, craftsmen, artists, architects, universities and research institutions, museums, collectors, archives, hotels and restaurants.
Registration for the award is exclusively via the registration portal of the European Textile Academy (www.eurotextileacademy.com)
When submitting, please indicate on the registration form and send via WeTransfer:
- Company address, the manufacturer’s website and contact persons.
- Description of the activity and the product (max. 500 characters, dt/it/eng).
- Discipline or category. If your product does not correspond to any of the subcategories, please select “Other” at this point.
- For the submission, the product presentation must be sent in hybrid form, if possible. This means that you provide us with an original product, sample, fabric quality, etc. and additional digital presentation options for judging. In some categories, it is possible to submit only digital presentation materials.
- After receipt of your registration you will receive the invoice for your participation.
The following file formats are permitted as digital material:
- Up to 10 images as JPG with a maximum of 10.1 MB each.
- Up to 5 videos as MP4 or MPG with a maximum of 1.4 GB each, recommended length: 2 min.
- Up to 5 PDF files with a maximum of 10 pages each and a maximum of 54.6 MB, 96 dpi.
Please note that the presentation material and description cannot be added to or edited after the registration has been completed. Make sure you have all materials complete and correct before completing the registration.
After your application, your submission will be thoroughly reviewed by our team of experts. You will then be informed in writing whether your submission meets the required criteria and has thus been nominated for participation in the 2024 ETA AWARDS. In case of non-admission, you will also receive a notification.
Dates ►
Registration and submission: by 20 September 2025, at the latest
Jury meeting: Oktober and November 2025
Publication of the nominees: November 2025
Gala Award Ceremony: Friday 23 January 2026 at the Waltherhaus in Bolzano
The winning projects will be exhibited in the Winner Gallery at the International Festival of Textile Crafts, Textile Art & Design from 20-21 March 2026 at Maretsch Castle in Bolzano.
The Award - Sections ►
Participation in the European Textile & Craft Award is possible in award categories. You can register your application in one category each, which seems to be advantageous for you. Below you will find the categories of the subject areas
The Award Categories
- Textile Craft
Textile crafts in the fields of weaving, dyeing, knitting, embroidery, upholstery, textile printing, millinery, etc.
- Sustainable Fashion Craft
Fashion Craft, Custom Tailoring
- Sustainable Fashion & Textile Industry
Sustainable industrial processing in women’s and men’s fashion, as well as in the textile industry
- Textile Art
Textile art, exhibition installations, etc.
- Textile Architecture
Textile constructions with membranes and ropes. Architecture of buildings of all kinds (Public buildings, sports facilities, industrial and corporate buildings, residential buildings, museums, hotels, etc.)
- Textile shading systems
Textile shading system, tent constructions, etc.
- Architecture with Natural Fibres
Contemporary architecture with fibres, e.g. from hemp, flax, straw, bamboo, willow, bark and renewable plant fibres, bark and renewable plant fibres. The extraordinary ecological and aesthetic qualities of natural fibres as building materials of the future are manifold.
- Interior
Home fabrics and carpets, upholstered furniture, upholstered beds and home accessories, textile printing, Indoor and outdoor.
- Costume Design
Independent artistic design and creation as well as the tailoring and organisational realisation of the costumes. It should reflect the artistic language of costumes for a production in the field of opera, theatre, musical, operetta, dance, ballet and film. Other aspects include the preparation for the production, the cooperation with the workshops, materializing and fabrics and sustainability.
- Hospitality
The award recognises hotels, inns and gastronomy establishments that have recognised the quality of textile furnishings in all guest areas for their competitiveness.
- Museums, Collections & Archives
The aim of the award is to recognise outstanding museum, collection and archive work and to highlight the quality of museum presentation and mediation work as well as the efforts to preserve “textiles” in all its areas as a cultural asset and to make it accessible to a broad public.
- Sonstiges
Textile subject areas that do not appear in the aforementioned categories, registration upon request.
Participation fees ►
Categories
| Textile Craft | 350,00 € |
| Sustainable Fashion Craft | 350,00 € |
| Sustainable Fashion & Textile Industry | 700,00 € |
| Textile Architecture | 700,00 € |
| Textile shading systems | 700,00 € |
| Architecture with Natural Fibres | 700,00 € |
| Interiorr | 700,00 € |
| Costume Design | 350,00 € |
| Film Set Decoration | 350,00 € |
| Hospitality | 700,00 € |
| Museums, Collections & Archives | 350,00 € |
| Other | on request |
The participation fees apply per submitted project plus the legally applicable VAT. Tickets for the event can be booked via the Ticket Portal of the European Textile Academy (www.eurotextilacademy.com). Please note that your participation at the Awards Ceremony will be subject to additional costs including travel and accommodation. These costs are not included in the competition entry fee. Please note that the competition entry fee will not be refunded once we start processing the applications. The paid fee remains non-refundable in case of non-nomination.
Anmeldeportal ETA-Award ►
Download information sheet ►
Jury committee
The European Textile & Craft Award is decided on by an independent international jury of experts made up of representatives from colleges, universities, crafts and industry, arts and culture.
The jury will select “Award” winners in each category, as well as an appropriate number of “Silver” winners. In addition, “Special Mention” awards are given for particularly noteworthy achievements.
Evaluation criteria:
- Overall concept
- Aesthetic and functional design
- Quality of processing
- Processed material or fibres
- Sustainability
The above order does not represent an evaluation ranking for the jury. The jury is free to weight the individual criteria in the application. All applications submitted in due form and time will be presented to the jury for adjudication.
Stefano Barbini
More...
In his “past life” Stefano was immersed in the high-voltage world of fashion and luxury goods. He was the ESCADA CEO for Italy and France and, before that, worked as a marketing manager for major brands like Moschino, Alberta Ferretti, Jean Paul Gaultier and Ozbek. His wife Giorgia is the granddaughter of Gaetano Savini, who founded Brioni, the celebrated house of high fashion for men.
Then one day, Stefano, and his wife Giorgia, simply made the decision to leave the whole rat race behind. They were so struck by the power of this experience that they developed their own signature holiday concept: privacy and authenticity in the high mountains, on the high seas and in the heart of Rome − three places on our planet where time stands still. They expressly designed their San Lorenzo Lodges as deluxe yet wholly private havens far removed from the hustle and bustle of our modern world.
Today his mission is to be ambassadors of Italian style.
Antonella Cattani
More...
Since 1991, she has been the owner of the art gallery Antonella Cattani contemporary art, Bolzano.
The profile assumed by the gallery and consolidated over the years is the result of research and commitment aimed at presenting contemporary personalities who have distinguished themselves on the art scene for the outcome of their research in the various disciplines, from painting to sculpture to new languages.
With the aim of showing identities of choices, independent of the trends of the moment, it has cultivated relationships with internationally recognised artists and emerging artists who have been presented, with an ad hoc project, in gallery exhibitions and at trade fairs in Italy and abroad.
Entertaining relationships with institutions and historical archives has led, over the years, to the realisation of numerous exhibitions dedicated to historicised artistic personalities.
To this day, Antonella Cattani carries out her activity with the awareness that art, in all its declinations, is a primary good that stimulates not only the eye but also our intellect.
Jennifer Daley
More...
Jennifer Daley is an Award winning textile innovator and founder of Jennifer Daley Fine Textiles, a research, development and manufacturing company focused on human-centric fabric solutions. With over 50 years of field experience and observation, and 15 years of hands-on research, she creates high-performance textiles, primarily from animal protein fibers like wool, that regulate temperature, conserve energy, and support long-term health. Jennifer focuses on fabrics that support the biological needs of homeotherms providing a path forward to fixing the inherent problems in the textile industry.
Her work redefines the value of textiles, not by trend or price, but by how well they serve our biological and environmental needs. Operating from The Daley Textile House and Gardens near San Francisco, she integrates material science, regenerative design, education, and hospitality to offer immersive, sensory learning experiences. As a hospitality host, she invites guests into direct contact with her sustainable textiles, reimagining the role of fabric in our daily life.
Dirk Emmer
More...
Dirk P. Emmer has been in the world of textile construction for over 25 years. In the meantime, he has made a name for himself internationally not only as a project developer but also as an expert for this business. He loves to develop and support new solutions and ways .He also loves all natural fibers and special technical textiles. He likes to share his extensive knowledge in discussions, lectures and workshops - which also explains his commitment to the European Textile Academy.
GG Kirchner
More...
GG Kirchner is an architect and a partner at METAFORM architects. He studied Product Design at HfG Schwäbisch Gmünd graduating in 1993. In 2016 he became a member of the "Architektenkammer Baden-Würtenberg". He was particularly interested in the interface between design and architecture, which was a recurring theme in his work. In 1993 he started working as an architect for Hermann Valentiny, where he became a partner in 2010. In 2017 he became a partner at METAFORM architects which has grown to an award-winning firm with a multidisciplinary team of over 40 collaborators with offices in both Luxembourg and Dubai. The firm’s key achievements, including the creation of the Luxembourg pavilion at EXPO2020 in Dubai and Luxembourg’s first Velodrome, bear witness to its know-how and expertise. Their creative and daring approach brings a distinct signature style to each project. GG has played an active role in the field architecture as Lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences Trier (2009), Member at the "Verein zur Förderung von Architektur, Engineering und Design" in Stuttgart and as founder and editor of the trade magazine Adato (2002). Furthermore, he appeared as a member of numerous juries.
Aurora Magni
More...
Aurora Magni is President of Blumine srl, a research and consultancy company working in the field of sustainable textiles and fashion since 2010. She is a lecturer at LIUC-University Cattaneo School of Engineering and author of essays and articles on sustainability.
Lars Meeß-Olsohn
More...
His enthusiasm for textiles in the context of lightweight constructions awoke towards the end of his architectural studies at RWTH Aachen University. The doctorate at the turn of the millennium in civil engineering at the University of Duisburg-Essen laid the foundation for the site-specific designs and the projects honoured for their design. These range from private and public fabric and foil constructions, art and exhibition installations to an amphitheatre roof, such as the recent one for up to 1,000 visitors. Since 2009, Lars Meeß-Olsohn has headed the TEXTILE-ARCHITEKTUR network of leading membrane construction companies and organises trade fairs and symposia as training events.
Sara Martinsen
More...
Sara Martinsen is a Danish designer based in Copenhagen Denmark. Martinsen works in the cross field of art and design creating edition pieces from bio based materials. Her approach is artistic and she likes to explore various materials while challenging new and old techniques. Her handcrafted pieces express the inherent qualities and characteristics of natural materials like straw, wood, plant fiber, clay and stone.
Saras work is sculptural with a distinct rhythm and tactility encouraging the user to touch, look and smell the piece, promoting awareness of its qualities through beautiful compositions.
Photo Copyright Christian Bang
Dorothea Nicolai
More...
Costume designer, lecturer for costume history at the Academy Fashion Design AMD, member of ICOM IC Costume and Netzwerk Mode Textil, persistant publications and presentations. „Everything is Costume“! She enjoys doing research on various textile topics and textile heritage in museums and archives and concurrently is curious about new technical developments and the questions of the textile world today. She tries to combine acedemic research, artistic aspects and textile handicraft tradition. She believes in beauty, beauty heals. www.nicolai.at
Alice Stori Liechtenstein
More...
Alice Stori Liechtenstein is an Italian curator specialised in design and applied arts. She is the founder of Schloss Hollenegg for Design, an international project based in Austria, to support design culture. The program offers a residency program to creatives working in the fields of design, crafts and applied arts, and organises a yearly exhibition in the historical rooms of the castle.
As an independent curator she has curated the Glanz und Glamour, 200 Years Lobmeyr at the MAK, Museum of Apllied Arts in Vienna in 2023, Operae in Turin in 2017, Design after Darwin at the Venice Biennale in 2018, as well as shows for Friedman Benda in New York, the Design and Craft Council in Ireland, for Collect in London and at the Salone del Mobile in Milan.
After her studies in Milan and Barcelona, she worked a number of years as exhibition designer. From 2014 to 2017 she wrote a daily design blog, during which time she started analysing the changes in the disciplines related to design. She was a lecturer at the FH Joanneum from 2012 to 2022. She is a public speaker and moderator.
Christian Vötter
More...
The cultural and project manager Christian Vötter heads the Leopold Kohr Academy in Salzburg and Neukirchen. With a focus on organisation, marketing, talent and business development, he organises lectures, exhibitions, symposia and events. He has directed a number of international film projects and, as a founding member of the Schatzkammer Hohe Tauern, the multimedia Schatzkammer TV. Development and implementation of journalistic concepts. Specialist teacher for cultural tourism/cultural and project management - development of an interdisciplinary curriculum in the technical schools for economic professions, Bramberg. Management of the project Verein Alternativ-Technologie-Zentrum, Salzburg. Publishing director of TAURISKA. Co-founder of ARGE Pinzgau teachers with TAURISKA. Board member of the Leader Region Hohe Tauern National Park of the European Union. Construction of the Bramberg fruit press and the apple pomace drying plant. Foundation of the Genussregion Bramberger Obstsaft. Management consultant and own company.
Photo Copyright Tauriska
Eva Winterer
More...
Eva Winterer is the managing director of the communications agency Silent Communications and publisher of Silent Luxury magazine. With her agency, she advises companies on strategic communication with a focus on authenticity and long-term brand relationships.
Silent Luxury was founded based on the observation that today’s communication often lacks appreciation for craftsmanship and authentic stories. The magazine is therefore dedicated to companies, products and people who value quality, sustainability and traditional craftsmanship.
Through her reporting on the Italian fashion industry, Couture Regenerative and Copenhagen Fashion Week, as well as various company profiles, Eva Winterer highlights sustainable developments in the textile and craftsmanship industry. Her approach is based on listening, understanding details and telling stories that create a connection between products, manufacturers and their values.
Francesco Zampieri
More...
Designer and textile historian. He has always endeavoured to combine historical and technical knowledge, convinced that it is essential for today’s design to start from the memory of the past. As a historian, he has collaborated with Venetian and national institutions and museums and, together with D.D.Poli, led the cataloguing of the antique fabrics from the Fortuny collection. Lecturer in textile design at the Liceo Artistico Guggenheim in Venice, curator of the Rubelli S.p.A. company archive and special projects on the historical-stylistic reconstruction of upholstered furniture and textile furnishings of famous theatres, important museums and historical Italian and European buildings. Numerous publications on textile collections and works.
Institutional Partners
Media Partner
You must be logged in to post a comment.