764 candidatures from 73 countries have been received for the fashion and design contest « Design 21 - Love / Why ? ». The pre-selection Committee, composed of specialists in fashion and design from different cultures, met from 21 to 23 September 2004 to select the designers whose creation will be exhibited in Tokyo, Kobe, New York and Paris (in November 2005) where the prize-giving ceremony will take place.

The following candidates have been pre-selected:

• Mr David Altit, Israel - Human playground (games for parents and children)
• Mr Roger Arquer, Spain - Compost bar
• Ms Liat Bachar, Israel - Fun bus station
• Ms Hila Binyamin Shimoni, Israel - Long term investment (ring)
• Mr Alistair Bramley and Mr Marko Plevnik, United Kingdom - Pinch (salt and pepper set)
• Mr Tat Chao, Canada - Touche et sens… mon cœur qui bat (t-shirt with embossed item)
• Mr Wouter van Dillen, The Netherlands - Chess mate
• Ms Alexandra and Ms Anastasia Faldina, Russia - Shirt for two
• Mr Christopher Granneberg, USA - Freebug (shelter for insects)
• Ms Hannaliisa Hailahti, Finland - Warmglow Chair (multi-functions chair)
• Ms Kyu-Young Hong, Rep. of Korea - Sakamo (handbag)
• Ms Dina Kazanjan, Israel - NIMBY (Not in my backyard: bag pocket for dog cleanliness)
• Mr Tadashi Kimura, Japan - Clay grave (flowered grave)
• Ms Kanako Kiso, Japan - Coffin with love (for puppies)
• Ms Helga Lahtinen and Ms Anna Salonen, Finland - Blind me (ceramic tiles)
• Mr Alon Meron, Israel - Combination bowls
• Ms Tamar Meshulam, Israel - Master Peace, a game for intercultural dialogue
• Mr Tetsuya Muranaka, Japan - Rest (ceramic chinaware)
• Mr Hidetaka Nakahara, Japan - Living basket (flowered garbage basket)
• Mr Koji Ohtsuka, Japan - Snail’s nail (can opener)
• Ms Karen Olze and Ms Gisa Wilkens, Germany - donotdisturb (pillow and socks)
• Mr Kunio Osawa, Japan - Flow (clock)
• Mr Edoardo Perri, Italy - Neo pocket
• Ms Anne Pikkov, Estonia - One + one = one (sewed t-shirts)
• Mr Guy Regev, Israel - Water snake (plastic bottles connecting pieces)
• Ms Berta Riera, Spain - Tapa ceramic
• Ms Baiba Rulle, Latvia - Little plum (hanging craddle)
• Ms Carla Tennenbaum, Brazil - Cinetica tapestry
• Mr Zhanar Turekulov, Kazakhstan - USB Flash drive ShanKobyz
• Ms Sonja Vrbovszky, Austria - Overcomes borders (bowl)

The Paris exhibition will take place from 2 to 18 November 2005 at UNESCO House (7 place Fontenoy - Paris 7th).