The highly coveted International Woolmark Prize, which has been going strong since 1953, made waves as it announced that The British Isles would now be competing as a separate area of its own alongside the other regions, which are Australia, Europe, Asia, USA, India & Middle East. The Woolmark Company also revealed the names of the British nominees for the prize, previous winners of which have included the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent.
The nominees for the brand new British category are Teatum Jones, J. JS Lee, Thomas Tait, Fyodor Golan and Phoebe English for womenswear, while for menswear they are Agi & Sam, Craig Green, A. Sauvage, Lee Roach and Kit Neale. In order to compete, each designer will have to present sketches of a merino wool capsule collection of six outfits, with one full outfit to be produced for the regional competition set to take place in London on July 3. After being judged by a panel of experts, which are yet to be announced, the nominees will be in with a chance of becoming a global finalist. Following the completion of the other regional heats in Shanghai, Sydney, Antwerp, Dubai and New York, the 12 global finalists will be awarded with 50,000 Australian dollars, which will act towards the completion of their collection. They will also be invited to participate in the international final.
It is set to be a fierce competition of many stages, but if they are successful, we could be seeing some British talent at the menswear final at Pitti Uomo in Florence in January, and at the womenswear final in New York in February.
