The exhibition “The Challenge: Italian Design Innovation in Sport,” dedicated to showcasing the outstanding achievements of Italian-made sports equipment, has officially opened in Hong Kong.
Organised by the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong in collaboration with the Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC), and promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation based on a project by the ADI Design Museum, “The Challenge” explores the intersection of sport, technology, and creativity. It offers an exceptional platform highlighting the finest examples of Italian industrial design applied to the sporting sector.
Hosted by the DX Design Hub until 9 January, the exhibition presents a fifty-year retrospective of Italian ingenuity. Through a carefully curated selection of objects—ranging from historic tennis rackets to state-of-the-art racing helmets, from professional diving masks to next-generation ski boots—the exhibition illustrates how Italian creativity and aesthetic research have evolved in synergy with technological innovation, culminating in a seamless fusion of visual quality and athletic performance.
“The Challenge” forms part of this year’s cultural programme organised by the Consulate in partnership with the HKDC for the 2025 Business of Design Week, which is entirely dedicated to Italy. In this context, a seminar was also held in recent days for students of the Hong Kong Design Institute, during which Raffaella Paniè, Brand Identity and Look of the Games Director for the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation, presented the visual elements of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games.
