Wool, C’est Cool: Woolmark To Relaunch Annual Fashion Prize During Paris Couture
Submitted by The Fashion Informer Blog
Woolmark, the non-profit organization founded by Australian wool growers, is relaunching its annual Woolmark Prize for fashion creativity in Paris this summer.
The Woolmark Prize was originally conceived back in 1954 as the International Wool Secretariat to assist emerging fashion talent both financially and professionally, and was awarded to two then-fledgling young designers by the names of Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent, who were 21 and 19, respectively.
Since then, countless other designers went on to win the prize, including Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Romeo Gigli, Dolce & Gabbana and Giorgio Armani, before the program was shuttered in 1992.
Sixteen years later, the Woolmark Award is being relaunched as the Woolmark Prize with a roster of truly talented up-and-comers. The 2008 nominees hail from around the globe and include Louise Goldin, Rubecksen Yamanaka, Shao Jia, Tom Scott, Everlasting Sprout, Crysti Fischer, Qui Hao, Cooperativedesigns, Marielle Vab de Ven and Xavier Brisoux.
All were required to create a capsule collection emphasizing the “sensual, sculptural aspects of knit,” and are vying for a prize of €100,000 in the form of Australian Merino wool, and support in sourcing, manufacturing, distributing and publicizing a prototype collection to be shown during the A/W 2009 ready-to-wear shows in Paris.
The 2008 Woolmark Prize will be judged by an as-yet-unnamed panel of industry experts and awarded at a gala to be held at the Palais de Tokyo during the couture shows in July.
