British Vogue - 04.2020

In 2020, fashion is truly global, and so is this

year’s International Woolmark Prize – which

has the theme of traceability and brings

some serious technological innovation, too.

Photographs by Andreas Larsson.

Styling by Rachel Bakewell

FROM KARL LAGERFELD and Yves Saint Laurent

to Giorgio Armani, Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren,

Woolmark has awarded and incubated some of the most

prolific, era-defining designers in fashion history. And vying

for the 2020 International Woolmark Prize? Ten of the most

promising and diverse global talents to date.

Selected from more than 300 entries, from 47 countries,

these finalists are not only brilliant designers, they are

actively building brands focused on values such as innovation,

diversity, inclusivity and sustainability, too. These ideals lie

at the core of The Woolmark Company (a not-for-profit

that works alongside over 60,000 wool growers in Australia

to research, develop and certify Australian Merino wool),

which, via its prizes and collaborations, also supports brands

and trade partners – helping them to work responsibly in

all areas of operation (from fibre sourcing to garment-

making) and, through its established retail network,

connecting them to the world’s new markets and most

prestigious boutiques and retailers.

“We decided to make the prize even more democratic this

year,” explains Stuart McCullough, Woolmark’s managing

director. “So we made an open call to the global industry.”

In years past, experts would select designers to represent set

regions in a semi-finals round. Now, an advisory council

selects 10 finalists from all worldwide applicants, regardless

of whether this means several finalists come from the same

region, to compete. This makes sense considering how

transnational young designers have become. Take, for

example, finalists Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh of

Dutch brand Botter. The duo share Caribbean roots, via

Curaçao and the Dominican Republic respectively; spent

formative years in Amsterdam; and, in 2018, relocated from

Antwerp to Paris, where they are also the current artistic

directors of French house Nina Ricci.

The 2020 finalist advisory council includes esteemed

fashion critics such as Sarah Mower and Tim Blanks,

Christiane Arp of Vogue Germany, Christine Centenera of

Vogue Australia, Sara Sozzani Maino of Vogue Italia, and

environmental and human rights activist Livia Firth.

In the digital age, fashion has the potential to be borderless,

and the 2020 finalists hail from the United Kingdom, China,

Ireland, America, Germany, South Korea, Belgium and

France. “I’m very grateful to be accepted into the

International Woolmark Prize alongside such a diverse and

exciting group of designers,” says finalist Feng Chen Wang,

who runs studios in both Shanghai and London. “It’s such

an exciting award, and probably the only one that is

genuinely concerned with research and development, which

in turn protects our industry and our planet.”

Embracing the shift towards inclusivity and gender fluidity,

Woolmark has this year combined the womenswear and

menswear categories – another first for the organisation – and

will select one overall winner to receive the more than £100,000

grand prize. Meanwhile, just over £50,000 will go to the

winner of the Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation. Named

in honour of the 1954 prize-winner and visionary designer

Karl Lagerfeld, it will be awarded to the finalist who showcases

outstanding achievement in innovation and creativity with

their development and use of Australian Merino wool.

The finalists are each given £36,000 and required to develop

and produce six looks rendered in wool, which will then be

presented in London in early 2020. They will be judged by

a panel of industry heavyweights, including Edward Enninful,

British Vogue’s editor-in-chief; writer, broadcaster, activist

and fashion fan Sinéad Burke; model Anja Rubik; artist

Takashi Murakami; Hamish Bowles, American Vogue’s

international editor-at-large; and Holli Rogers, chief executive

of Browns. Innovation is encouraged. “The International

Woolmark Prize is an institution for the fashion industry,

and I am thrilled to be participating,” says Kim Jones, artistic

director of Dior men and another member of the judging

panel. “The competition shines a light on diversity and

innovation, and I’m very happy to be a part of that.”

An exceptionally luxurious and versatile fibre, wool can be

used to make anything from eveningwear to activewear. It

can be woven in an endless combination of textures and

weights, depending on the technique applied. It is natural,

renewable, biodegradable, durable, long-lasting, wrinkle- and

stain-resistant, and easy to care for. American finalist Emily

Adams Bode, who works with sustainable female-run factories

in Peru and India, shared her appreciation for Woolmark’s

commitment to the cultivation of the natural fibre. “As a

young brand whose focus is on the preservation of historical

techniques and textiles, it is an honour to be recognised by

a company that similarly has strived to preserve the use and

awareness of a historic fibre.”

The traceability focus for this year’s competition adds an

additional layer of innovation and further emphasises The

Woolmark Company’s commitment to leading fashion into

the future. Finalist Richard Malone, an Irishman living and

working in London, is vigilantly dedicated to sustainable

practices and strongly against mass production. He operates

under the belief that the creation of any piece of clothing >

WEAVING

fashion’s future

“The

competition

shines

a light on

diversity

and

innovation”

VOGUE PARTNERSHIP

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