The official torch, mother flame lantern and torchbearer uniforms for the Aug. 19-30 Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade, the biggest global sporting event ever staged in Taiwan, were unveiled April 19 in Taipei City.
Designed and manufactured by homegrown firms especially for the games, the three items epitomize Taiwan’s rising international reputation as a hotbed of creativity and innovation. They also underscore the ability of local small and medium enterprises to consistently achieve high standards of workmanship.
Chang Han-ning—creative director of the torch’s Taipei-headquartered designer UID Create Ltd.—said the item draws heavily on the time-honored artistry of bamboo weaving to convey the ideal of sportsmanship, as well as the traditional Chinese values of dignity and humility.
Similarly impressive is the mother flame lantern, also designed by UID Create Ltd. The ornate aluminum handles of the item are embossed with bamboo weaving-inspired patterns, further demonstrating the importance of the traditional craft in Taiwan society.
Jasper Huang, designer of the torchbearer uniforms, said they feature a reimagined Universiade logo expressed in a style reminiscent of traditional Chinese brush painting. They are made using S. Cafe yarn by New Taipei City-based Singtex Industrial Co. Ltd., a high-tech green fabric infused with microscopic particles of coffee. The yarn dries up to 200 percent faster than cotton, absorbs odors and reflects nearly all ultraviolet rays.
Su Li-chiung, CEO of the Universiade Organizing Committee under Taipei City Government, said the items are a credit to Taiwan and represent one of the core missions of the UOC: utilizing every opportunity to share the best elements of the country’s cultural and creative industries with the world.
The items will be on display April 19-23 at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei as part of an exhibition of Taiwan design products organized by the Ministry of Culture.
According to the UOC, the domestic leg of the torch relay for the 2017 Universiade will pass through Yushan—the highest peak in Taiwan and Northeast Asia at 3,952 meters—and all of the country’s 22 cities and counties.
Also known as the World University Games, the Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival staged every two years in a different city worldwide. The 29th edition of the games in Taipei involves 7,700-plus student athletes from nearly 150 countries contesting 21 sports at 38 competition venues around northern Taiwan. (CPY-E)