Mr Junichi Arai calls himself a ‘Textile Creator’, but he is called a ‘Post-industrial Expert’ and a ‘Talent of Japan’s Fabric Industry’. He and some Japanese avant-garde fashion designers are regarded as the core group for contemporary textile products. His works are included in the permanent collections of many museums including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK; the Museum of Modern Art, and the American Craft Museum, USA. Mr Arai was the recipient of the 1^st Annual International Trade and Industry Minister’s Prize in 1961; recipient of the Grand Prize from Manichi Fashion in 1983. He launched Nuno fabrics shop in the Axis Building Tokyo in 1984. In 1987, he was awarded an Honourable Royal Designer for Industry by the British Royal Society of Arts. In 1992, he was awarded the medal of Textile Designer by the Textile Institute. In 2003, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by The London Institute (now the University of the Arts London).

Mr Nino Cerruti, one of the most reputable fashion designers in the world, first showed his fantastic talent in fashion design as early as at his age of 20, when he joined his family business in 1950. Now, a valuable opportunity is provided for young students to demonstrate their artistic ability and become the next successful fashion designer on the international stage.

Dr. LEE Nai Shee, Harry, S.B.S., J.P., holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the Imperial College, London, the United Kingdom and a Doctorate from Brown University, the United States

Dr Lee has over 30 years' experience in the textile and garment industry. He joined Textile Alliance Limited (TAL) in Hong Kong in 1973 and in 1983, was appointed Chief Executive Officer of TAL Apparel Limited, which currently employed over twenty thousand employees.

He is actively involved in a number of trade organizations in Hong Kong. He is the Honorary Chairman of the Hong Kong Garment Manufacturer's Association, and Textile Council of Hong Kong Ltd.

Dr Gerald Joseph Mauretti is an international businessman and founder of EY Technologies, a specialty technical textiles company, located in Massachusetts, USA. He possesses international experience in the development, marketing and manufacturing of technical fiber based materials and yarns used for industrial products and composites. He is the recent past World President of the Textile Institute, a UK based worldwide professional organization, with members in more than ninety countries, covering all sectors and disciplines in the textile industry. In addition, he is an active international speaker on technical, marketing and management subjects and published in numerous technical journals. Dr Mauretti is currently the Chairman of the UMass Dartmouth Foundation, Vice Chairman of the University of Massachusetts Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center Advisory Board, and also former Chairman of the Bristol Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and a member of Massachusetts Workforce Board. The recognition of his substantial contributions to the business community and the textile industry can be further revealed by his recent receipt of the invitation from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to receive an honorary degree to be presented to him in May 2010.

Prof. Edward Newton is Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Textiles and Clothing of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He combines an academic career in parallel with that of an internationally known Fashion and Textile Design/Marketing Consultant, spanning all areas of Fashion and Textiles. He considers that the two areas of academia and consultancy inter-relate successfully and provide the basis for his undoubted excellence in the area of Design and Marketing.
He has, over the past twenty-five years, held the posts of Chair Professor of Fashion Marketing and Merchandising, Head of ITC at PolyU; Professor and Head of Department of Fashion and Textiles, Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design at the Nottingham Trent University, UK. He had held visiting lecturer/professor post at many of the world's leading fashion and textiles institutes including visiting tutor at the Royal College of Art, London. Currently he is Honorary Professor at Donghua University, Shanghai; Fashion Institute of Design, Beijing; Chair of the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes (IFFTI).
Prof. Newton's international experience and interests include research, consultancy and teaching. He has worked extensively in Europe, India, China, the Far East and the U.S.A. His main area of research is the globalisation of Fashion and Textile Design and associated areas of manufacturing and retailing.

Dr Andrew Sia is the Chairman and CEO of the ACE Style Group, whose core business is manufacture of premium quality lingerie and swimwear. The Group Headquarters in Hong Kong is supported by its manufacturing facilities in China and the Philippines, and customer services and design offices in New York and London. The ACE Style Group currently employs around 10,000 persons worldwide. Dr Sia is the Founding Chairman of the Hong Kong Intimate Apparel Industries' Association and founder of the ACE Style Institute of Intimate Apparel at the De Montfort University in UK and at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is also an active member of the TDC's Garment Advisory Committee and the Hong Kong SAR Government Textiles Advisory Board, and a director of the Textile Council of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel, and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Textiles.

In March 2009, Dr. Sia was conferred by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University the title of Adjunct Professor, Institute of Textiles and Clothing.

Miss Vivienne Tam is a graduate from the then Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1978 with a Higher Diploma in Design. After graduation, Ms Tam moved to New York, where she thrived on the excitement and energy of the fashion world. She founded her own fashion house East Wind Code Ltd in 1983, and in 1994 established the “Vivienne Tam” brand. Ms Tam is internationally recognised for her innovative and unique East-meets-West designs. All of her collections are prominently labelled “Made in Hong Kong” or “Made in China”, and she continually promotes the use of Asian women as models in her promotional campaigns. In 1995, Ms Tam introduced the influential “Mao” collection, which triumphantly crossed over from the fashion world into the art world. Two years later she launched the venerable Buddha collection, which once again stimulated the interest of celebrities and the fashion conscious. Such has been her influence that some of her works have been incorporated into the permanent archives of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, The Museum at FIT, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Ms Tam was honoured with the Outstanding PolyU Alumni Award in its first selection in 1997.

Ms Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada is a scholar, curator and artist of historical and contemporary textiles and fiber art. She is the co-founder of World Shibori Newtork (WSN) [www.shbori.org] in 1992 and became President of WSN in 2004. The establishment of WSN not only facilitates overseas exchange of online information via website and related blogs but also coordinates interactive web activities to build community and educate general public. Ms Wada had co-chaired seven of WSN's International Shibori Symposia (ISS) since 1992 in Japan, India, Chile, Australia, United Kingdom and France. In addition, she also founded Slow Fiber Studio program in 2009 to promote social, cultural and environmental sustainability in textile practice. Recently, Ms Wada has received the 2010 Distinguished Educator Award from the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA. She has been the Visiting Lecturer of Textile Department of Okinawa Prefecture University of Fine Arts in Naha, Japan since 1994. At the same time, she has been invited as the curator of numerous exhibitions, including Gallery Concept 21 at Tokyo (2005); Leedy-Voulkos Gallery at Kansas City (2003); Felissimo Design House at New York (2002); San Francisco Airport Museum (2000); Art St. Louis (1999); and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes at Santiago, Chile (1999).

Mr Shoji Yamamura is a master of Kurume Kasuri, carries forward the handicraft via indigo dyed yarn and using Iket process to produce unique natural products. He is a member of Kurume Kasuri Chapter of Important Intangible Cultural Treasures Society and member of Japan Arts and Crafts Society. He grew up in a household surrounded by the fragrance of indigo dyes and Kurume Kasuri weaving for several generations. After graduating from university, Mr Yamamura studied textile dyeing in Kyoto, and presently the third generation of his family to engage in the art of making Kurume Kasuri.

Mr Shoji Yamamura's textile designs have been exhibited worldwide. He has received 38 prizes in various design competitions including 3 awards at the 12th, 14th and 20th competitions of dyeing and weaving for new talents in 1987, 1989 and 1995; 10 awards at the 43rd, 44th, 45th, 47th, 48th, 52nd, 54th, 55th, 56th, 57th Exhibition of Japanese Traditional Art Crafts in 1996, 1977, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. He has won 2 prizes at Japan Folk Craft Open Competition, a prize at Traditional Craft Competition of Fukuoka Prefecture. Mr Yamamura has gained the director of Kyushu Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the presentation of new works in 1997, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010. Mr Shoji Yamamura also won 3 Minister of International Trade and Industry Awards at the Kurume Kasuri Fair in 1996, 1999 and 2000.

Prof. Yeung is currently the Executive Director of the Clothing Industry Training Authority in Hong Kong. He graduated from the Hong Kong Technical College, the predecessor of PolyU, with a Higher Diploma in Dyeing, Printing and Finishing in 1968. Prof. Yeung holds a PhD degree from the Queen's Universitiy of Belfast which was awarded to him in 1978. Moreover, he has been awarded fellowship from the Textile Institute in UK, Hong Kong Institution of Textiles & Apparel, Society of Dyers and Colourists in UK and Textile Association in India. In 2005, Prof. Yeung was honoured with an Outstanding Alumni Award by PolyU.

Dr Ho obtained his Associateship in textile technology in 1981. He then gained his Master of Arts degree, with distinction, in Clothing Merchandising in 2001 and the Doctor of Philosophy in 2005 from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Dr Ho has more than 30 years work experience in the Hong Kong's textiles and clothing industry and has been a part-time lecturer in textiles and clothing technologies for 18 years. He is also a Chartered Textile Technologist of the Textile Institute since 1983 and currently a Fellow Member of Hong Kong Institute of Textile and Apparel, an Adjunct Associate Professor of Institute of Textiles and Clothing of PolyU, a Visiting Professor at both Zhejiang University City College and Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, as well as an Observer to Technical Committee (Textiles), ISO.