Woolmark has begun to announce the nominees for this year’s International Woolmark Prize, but that’s not the only big news the competition has to offer.
The IWP is adding another region to its roster, singling out the U.K. and separating it from the European category. And no, this isn’t simply an effort to increase the number of winners hailing from Europe. According to managing director of the Woolmark Company Stuart McCullough, this new grouping is due to the U.K.’s importance in the wool market. “The decision to expand the International Woolmark Prize to six regions to include the British Isles was due to industry demands,” he said. “The U.K. is one of wool’s most tightly held markets. It is an important market from a trade and consumer perspective. It is also the most important market to inform global trends.”
Nominees include Thomas Tait, Phoebe English, Agi & Sam, Craig Green, Suket Dhir, Republic and more, which you can find listed on the Woolmark Prize website. The competition is divided into men’s and women’s categories and for the 2014/2015 season, U.S. labels Public School (menswear) and M.Patmos (womenswear) took home top honors.
[via Vogue UK, the International Woolmark Prize]
