London – The International Woolmark Prize has announced the judging
panels for the next cycle of its annual competition, which honours the most
innovation womenswear and menswear designers and their use of wool.
This year’s competition is set to welcome industry experts to serve as
judges once more, as well as acclaimed designers Jason Wu, Neil Barrett and
Juun.J. They will sit alongside industry representatives including fashion
author, editor and consultant André Leon Talley; Vogue Italia
Editor-in-Chief Franca Sozzani; Topman Creative Director Gordon Richardson;
and British GQ Editor Dylan Jones, during the first regional award ceremony
to take place, Europe, set to take place later this week in Milan, Italy on
June 28.
“With more than 75 designers selected from 62 countries, this year’s
edition of the International Woolmark Prize is the biggest one yet,” said
The Woolmark Company Managing Director Stuart McCullough. “The award
continues to highlight the most innovative and modern interpretations of
Australian wool at the hands of the world’s most promising design talents.”
We are proud
to announce the international fashion heavyweights who will judge the
world’s most promising design talents at the 2016/17 International
#WoolmarkPrize.A photo
posted by The Woolmark Company (@thewoolmarkcompany) on Jun 21, 2016 at 4:09am
PDTThe British Isles regional final, set to take place on July 5, will see
designer Roksansa Ilinci; Vogue deputy editor Emily Sheffield; GQ editor
Dylan Jones; Topman creative director Gordon Richardson; group fashion
buying director of Harvey Nichols, Anita Barr; men’s style director of
Matchesfashion.com Simon Chilvers; and fashion and buying director of
Boutique 1 Group Bridget Cosgrave serve together as juding panel.“Our esteemed judging panels and mentors will no doubt provide expert
advice to each of the nominees which is invaluable at this stage of their
careers. The continued support from industry heavyweights, governing bodies
and the world’s most influential retailers cements the importance of the
International Woolmark Prize on the world stage.”The judges will decide which designers are best fit to move onto the global
final of the International Woolmark Prize for the menswear and womenswear
categories. Each judging panel will select one menswear and one womenswear
finalist to move one to the final round and each designer will receive a
50,000 AU dollars contribution to create their next capsule collection. The
final winners, which will be announced in early 2017, will be given an
additional grant of 100,000 AU dollars as well as the chance to sell their
capsule collections in department stores around the world.