Matthew Miller and Bodice were announced as this years winners of the menswear and womenswear 2017/2018 International Woolmark Prize.
The winners of the International Woolmark Prize were announced at a special event, during Pitti Uomo at Stazione Leopolda in Florence earlier this month. Matthew Miller and Bodice, from the UK and India, took home the prizes for menswear and womenswear 2017/2018 with the inaugural Innovation Award going to DYNE from the USA.
Both the menswear and womenswear winners will receive AU$200 000.00 in order to help grow their brands and businesses. The winners will enjoy ongoing industry mentorship as well as a Woolmark certification for their winning collection. Furthermore the designers will have the opportunity for their collections to be stocked in some of the world’s most prestigious department stores and boutiques. These include Tata CLiQ Luxury, Lane Crawford, LECLAIREUR, mytheresa.com, ORDRE, Parlour X, Boon The Shop, David Jones, Boutique 1, Harvey Nichols, Hudson’s Bay, Ssense.com and Sugar. DNYE, winner of the Innovation Award, will receive AU$100 000.00 together with various commercial opportunities.
The Woolmark Company’s Managing Director Stuart McCullough stated “Today we saw the world’s best-emerging designers present a true celebration of fashion design and innovation, as they shone the spotlight on Australian Merino wool. Each year, the competition has been fierce and this year was no different. I would also like to commend the mills and spinners who supplied the labels with luxury fabrics and yarns and assisted in the development of innovative fabrications.”
Over 65 designers from more than 60 countries were nominated for this year’s awards. The global finalists were L’Homme Rouge and David Laport (Europe), Antar-Agni and Bodice (Indian Subcontinent and Middle East), SixLee and KYE (Asia), Matthew Miller and Le Kilt (British Isles), DYNE and Zaid Affas (USA) and Blair Archibald and Harman Grubiša (Australia & New Zealand).
The winners were selected by a panel of highly esteemed judges including Elizabeth Von Guttman, Emanuele Farneti, Amber Valletta, Julie Davies, Livia Firth, Liya Kebede, Riccardo Vannetti, Nonita Kalra, Miroslava Duma, Phillip Lim, Sarah Mower and Stuart McCullough along with representatives from the International Woolmark Prize retail partner network.
The International Woolmark Prize 2017/2018 was supported by TONI&GUY, makeup by MAC, ORDRE, Future Tech Lab, Fondazione Pitti Discovery and Pitti Uomo.