The International Woolmark Prize (IWP) has announced the jury panel for its 2014/15 season, which will select this year’s lucky winner, among a choice of 65 emerging designers, who will all compete via five regional awards that will be held in Asia, Australia, Europe, India & Middle East, and the USA.
The jury panel consists of media representatives and further professionals of the fashion industry, such as Stefano Tonchi, Editor in Chief of W; David Granger, Editor in Chief of Esquire; and Ariel Foxman, Editor of InStyle; next to Saks Fifth Avenue’s Vice President and men’s Fashion Director, Eric Jennings; together with Senior Fashion Director, Colleen Sherin; CFDA’s CEO, Steven Kolb; Calvin Klein Inc.’s Executive Vice President, Malcolm Carfrae; and Michelle Lee, Director of Americas at The Woolmark Co.
Earlier this year, the Prize made headlines for adding a section dedicated to menswear to the competition. Among the nominated fashion designers are seven womenswear labels (Akaaro, Bird on A Wire, House of Fatam, Khaadi Khaas, Lara Khoury, Sania Maskatiya, and Zubair Kirmani) and three menswear brands (Barkha’n’Sonzal, Republic, and The Emperor 1688) that will be competing for the India & Middle East regional prize.
The regional participants will have to convince the jury panel with a presentation consisting of six sketches and one runway look creation, fully crafted from Merino wool. The category winner will be named on July 1st in Mumbai, and will receive a runway show sponsorship worth 50,000 AUD (AED/SAR 172,000). The 2013 edition of the International Woolmark Prize was won by an India & Middle East contestant, the New Delhi-based womenswear designer, Rahul Misra.
For this edition, the five womenswear finalists will meet in Beijing in March 2015, while the menswear finalists will meet during the London Men’s Collections in January. The overall winners for the womenswear and menswear categories will each receive 94,000 AUD (AED/SAR 322,478) to develop their respective fashion brands.
