Europe Regional Finals International Woolmark Prize 2015/16
The International Woolmark Prize is an annual fashion award-show hosted by the Woolmark Company. Round 1: A selected group of promising fashion designers/brands, (70 labels nominated from 23 countries) will first compete within their region for the chance to win the Woolmark Prize at the International Finals. Both finalists (mens- and womenswear designers) will receive about €33,900 to execute the collection which they will compete with at the international final shows. Round 2/Finals: The menswear final will be held at the Pitti Uomo in Florence, in January 2016, and the womenswear final in New York in February 2016. Prize: The 2 winning collections will be sold at a.o. the I.T. Store at Harvey Nichols, MyTheresa and Matchesfashion. The winners will receive €67,800 (approx.) for the development of their brand. Last year’s winners were Marcia Patmos (womenswear) and Public School (yes, menswear) both from the USA.
European Finals at the MOMU in Antwerp. Yesterday, July 13, it was time to choose the European finalists. They showed one finished outfit and were also judged by their designs, on paper, for the capsule collection of 6 outfits, all will be made in Australian Merino Wool.
We, at Mimi Berlin, were rooting for Dutch Designers Nanna van Blaaderen and Jonathan Christopher to win a spot in the Final competition…. And they did! WOW! They both were selected for Round 2: The Final Shows held in 2016!!
We shared a coach on the train with the winners on our way back to Amsterdam; they wondered if there ever were final shows with 2 Dutch designers. We didn’t know, couldn’t remember……….But if Nanna van Blaaderen and Jonathan Christopher àre the first, which is not unlikely, that would be SO extra special!
The European nominees: Womenswear; CristaSeya, France/Nanna van Blaaderen, Netherlands/Capara, Belgium/”COMEFORBREAKFAST“, Italy/Juan Vidal, Spain/BOBBY KOLADE, Germany/Freya Dalsjø, Denmark/Asu Aksu, Turkey Menswear; Harmony, France/Jonathan Christopher, Netherlands/ MariusPetrus, Belgium/CHRISTIAN PELLIZZARI, Italy/ETXEBERRIA, Spain/IVANMAN, Germany/Armoire d’homme, Denmark/Giray Sepin, Turkey/Pavel Ivančic, Czech Republic
The European judging Panels: Womenswear; An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx, Designers of A.F. Vandevorst, Justin O’Shea, Buying Director at Mytheresa.com, Christiane Arp, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Germany, John de Greef, Fashion Director of Elsevier STIJL, Colin McDowell, Fashion Commentator Menswear: Walter Van Beirendonck, Independent Designer and Head of the Fashion Department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Simon Chilvers, Men’s Style Director at Matchesfashion.com, Veerle Windels, Freelance Fashion Journalist, James Sleaford, Fashion Editor of GQ France, Fabrizio Servente, Global Strategic Advisor for The Woolmark Company.
British Isles regional finalists; Agi & Sam and Teatum Jones were chosen earlier this month as winners of the British Isles regional final, held at One Horse Guards in London, by the judging panel: Roland Mouret, Jason Basmajian, Dylan Jones, Sophie Neophitou, Anita Barr, Simon Chilvers and Stuart McCullough selected Agi & Sam as the men’s wear winner and Teatum Jones as the winner for the women’s wear category.
“The International Woolmark Prize is the incarnation of a 60 year history of design awards supported by the Australian wool industry. (The first winners of the Woolmark Prize, in 1953, were Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent) The prize represents The Woolmark Company’s social commitment, a sharing of resources and supporting of local artisans. -All designers in the International Woolmark Prize are selected by nominating bodies enlisted by The Woolmark Company to provide an unbiased and expert opinion on who would best represent their country in the prize. Our official nominating bodies in Europe include Czech Grand Design, Dansk Mode & Textil, Fashion Council NL, Fashion Designers Association of Turkey, Flanders Fashion Institute, GQ France, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid, Vogue Italia and Vogue Paris.`’ (read more woolmarkprize.com)