Last night was an exciting evening as we joined The Woolmark Company at Milk Studios in New York, where they announced the winners of the 2015/16 International Woolmark Prize USA regional finals. The Woolmark Company is the global authority on wool making this a prestigious honor for nominees and winners. A host of impressive judges deliberated hours before the ceremony to pick a winner. The judging panel included Ariel Foxman, Editor-in-Chief, InStyle; Colleen Sherin, Vice President, Senior Fashion Director, Saks Fifth Avenue; Eric Jennings, Vice President & Fashion Director Menswear, Home, Food & Gifts, Saks Fifth Avenue; Francisco Costa, Women’s Creative Director, Calvin Klein Collection; John Varvatos, Chairman, John Varvatos; Malcolm Carfrae, Global Head of Communications, Public Relations and Media, Ralph Lauren; Michelle Lee, Director of Americas for The Woolmark Company, Stefano Tonchi, Editor-in-Chief, W Magazine, and Steven Kolb, CEO, CFDA; selected the two winners. Honors went to designers SIKI IM and Tanya Taylor.
Designer John Varvatos was on hand to present Sik Im the award and noted, “The International Woolmark Prize is all about innovation. Siki is an out of the box thinker. He doesn’t walk the same path as everyone else and he truly understands the functionality and potential of Merino wool.” We couldn’t agree more. We enjoy his innovative designs and edgy menswear.
Francisco Costa, Women’s Creative Director, Calvin Klein Collection said about Tanya Taylor’s win, “Innovation was evident in all aspects of the collection – from fabric choices to overall creativity. It was free-spirited, happy and playful. I especially loved the prints and the variety of knits.”
Chosen from amongst the 10 most promising talents in USA fashion design, both winners gain a financial contribution of AU$50,000 (US$37,110), plus the opportunity to represent the USA and compete in the prestigious international final. The final for menswear will be held in Florence in January 2016, and the womenswear final will be held in New York in February 2016. For the next six months, the winning designers will be required to develop a capsule collection in Merino wool, to be showcased at one of two extraordinary events that will highlight the six menswear finalists and six womenswear finalists selected from across the globe.
The finalists will compete for the coveted International Woolmark Prize, the winners being awarded an additional AU$100,000 (US$74,210) and the opportunity to be stocked in the most important retailers of the world, including Harvey Nichols – London, 10 Corso Como – Milan, Beijing and Shanghai, Matchesfashion.com – online, Mytheresa.com – online, Saks Fifth Avenue – USA, Joyce – China, Isetan Mitsukoshi – Japan, Boutique 1 – UAE and David Jones – Australia.