“We triestini always used to tell ourselves that Trieste was la città in fondo a destra, ‘the city at the end on the right’,” says Barbara Franchin. “Now we’re starting to wake up to the fact that we’re slap-bang in the middle of things.” Franchin is the president and artistic director of ITS Foundation – International Talent Support, a Trieste-based foundation known principally for its annual ITS Contest, first held in 2002. A global competition for young fashion, accessories and jewellery designers that culminates in a starry gala, the prize has established itself as a major scouting platform for emerging talents: previous finalists include two of the fashion world’s hottest creative directors, Bottega Veneta’s Matthieu Blazy and Demna at Balenciaga.
芭芭拉•弗朗辛說：「我們的里雅斯德人過去總是覺得自己的城市『前不著村，後不著店』。現在我們開始意識到，我們正處於繁華喧囂的中心。」弗朗辛是ITS（「國際人才支持基金會」）的主席和藝術總監，該基金會主要以2002年首次舉行的年度ITS競賽而聞名。該獎項是一項面向年輕時裝、配飾和珠寶設計師的全球競賽，每年賽後會舉辦一場星光熠熠的盛會。該獎項已成爲新興人才的主要招募平臺：之前的入圍者包括兩位時尚界最炙手可熱的創意總監，寶緹嘉(Bottega Veneta)的馬蒂厄•布萊希(Matthieu Blazy)和巴黎世家(Balenciaga)的Demna。