Woolmark announces nominees of 2014/15 IWP

For the first time, two designers will receive the overall award, one for menswear and one for womenswear. Five regional awards will be held in Asia, Australia, Europe, India & Middle East and the USA to select the ten finalists, each receiving AU$50,000 financial contribution towards their next collection as well as an invitation to participate in the international final.

The five menswear finalists will meet at London Collections: Men in January 2015 and the five womenswear finalists will meet in Beijing in March 2015.

The winners of both the menswear and womenswear finals will receive a further AU$100,000 to assist with fabric sourcing and marketing of their collections. In addition, both international winners will have their collection commercialised through key international retail partners including Harvey Nichols in the UK, Joyce in China, Saks Fifth Avenue in the USA, Colette in France, 10 Corso Como in Italy, My Theresa online and David Jones in Australia.

“The addition of a menswear award for this year signifies the strength and following of the International Woolmark Prize and its impact over the past two years across the globe,” explained The Woolmark Company Managing Director Stuart McCullough.

“Previous winners, Christian Wijnants from Belgium and Rahul Mishra from India, have both experienced exponential increase in the turnover of their businesses, becoming international names overnight after their respective wins in London in 2013 and Milan in 2014.”

Click here to view complete list of all global nominees.

The Woolmark Company