Woolmark Prize announces British Isles nominees

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Apr 12, 2016

The Woolmark Company has just revealed the names of the eight nominees from the British Isles who will compete in the next edition of designer award the International Woolmark Prize.

The womenswear nominees are: Faustine Steinmetz, Danielle Romeril, Ashley Williams and Ryan Lo. Craig Green, Liam Hodges, Cottweiler and Baartmans & Siegel will compete for the menswear prize at the British Isles regional award, which will be held on July 5 at the Australian High Commission in London. This will also be where the international menswear final of the award is held in January 2017.

The International Woolmark Prize was first launched in 1953 and has previously been given to Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent, among others. Six regional events will be held during June and July this year in Hong Kong, Sydney, Milan, London, New York and Mumbai, and 77 designers from 62 countries have been selected to take part.

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Each designer will present one look in merino wool as well as a six-piece capsule concept to get the chance to represent their region at the final awards. Twelve finalists each get a AU$50,000 financial contribution towards their next collection and an invitation to participate in the international finals. The overall winners of the womenswear and menswear finals get a further AU$100,000 to assist with fabric sourcing and marketing of their collection.

The British Isles regional nominees were chosen by a panel of industry experts including Alexandra Fullerton, Fashion Director of Stylist Magazine; Colin McDowell and representatives from Matchesfashion.com and Harvey Nichols.

The 2015/16 International Woolmark Prize for womenswear was won by Teatum Jones, one of the British Isles competitors.