By Debbie McKeegan, CEO of TEXINTEL and FESPA Textile Ambassador
Highlighting past gold winners across screen-printed garments, large-scale stadium installations, and interior graphics, previous FESPA Awards showcase exceptional technical skill and creativity in textile printing. As entries open for the FESPA Awards 2027, print and signage professionals worldwide are encouraged to submit their best work for global recognition.
The print and signage industry doesn’t stand still, and nowhere is that more evident than in the world of textiles and apparel. From wearable art to vast fabric installations spanning entire stadiums, previous year’s FESPA Awards gold winners prove that fabric printing has become one of the most technically demanding and creatively rewarding disciplines in our sector.
As entries open for the 2027 FESPA Awards, it’s worth pausing to celebrate the calibre of work that has come before and to consider what it takes to stand among the very best.
Setting the Bar in Textiles and Apparel
Thailand’s Fine Rock claimed gold in not one but two textile categories in 2025, a remarkable achievement that speaks to genuine mastery of the medium. Their winning entry in Special Effect on T-Shirts, Garments and Other Textiles, Phaya Nak, showcased an all-over wraparound design combining gold foil, puff, silver diamond ink, and glow-in-the-dark effects—each technique layered with precision onto a discharge plastisol base. In the Printed Garments category, their design Tiger demonstrated equally exacting craft, with base white, red, yellow, and blue applied through fine 45 lpi colour separations to produce a striking, imposing image. Both pieces are a reminder that screen printing, far from being a legacy technique, remains capable of extraordinary sophistication in the right hands.
Scale told a different story in the Roll-to-Roll Printed Textiles category, where the UAE’s Print Works took gold for their work on the Liwa Village Festival in Abu Dhabi. This project required 16,000 square metres of printed fabric, 800 flags, and 2,000 police barriers, produced through a combination of UV and dye sublimation printing chosen specifically to suit each application. It’s a project that underlines how textile printing now sits at the intersection of art, engineering, and event infrastructure—proof that the ambitions of this sector have grown considerably in scope and complexity.
Excellence Beyond Fabric
This spirit of innovation isn’t confined to textiles alone. The Printeriors category, celebrating printed applications within interior spaces, was topped by Iwaarden of the Netherlands, whose multisite rebranding of Odido (formerly T-Mobile and Tele2) also claimed Best in Show honours. The scale was staggering: 4,500 square metres of applications across 225 locations, incorporating wall graphics, window films, acoustic panels, and printed polyester felt, all installed by more than 60 skilled signmakers over a single weekend. It’s a fitting companion piece to the textile winners, demonstrating how printed materials—whether on a garment or a wall—can transform environments and brand experiences alike.
Equally encouraging is the strength shown in the Student category, where Satyam Sign India earned gold for Heads, a hand screen-printed 35cm x 50cm art edition produced in two distinct colourways. Recognising emerging talent alongside established studios is central to what the FESPA Awards represent: a platform that doesn’t just showcase where the industry stands today but actively invests in where it’s heading next. The dedication and technical ambition on display from student entrants should give the whole industry confidence in the next generation of printers and sign-makers.
Your Work Belongs Here
What unites these winners regardless of category, scale, or country of origin is a refusal to settle for the ordinary. Whether it’s a hand-finished t-shirt or a stadium-sized fabric installation, each project reflects genuine investment in craft, technology, and sustainable production practices that this industry increasingly demands.
The FESPA Awards 2027 are now open for entry, and the message to businesses across textiles, apparel, interiors, and beyond is simple: your work deserves recognition. Every gold winner featured here started in the same place every entrant does—with a project they believed was worth submitting.
As the only independent awards programme with 18 categories dedicated to print and signage, FESPA offers a genuinely global stage, with shortlisted entries displayed at FESPA Global Print Expo in April 2027.
Enter Now: FESPA Awards 2027
