The Woolmark Company is pleased to announce the European nominees for the International Woolmark Prize, one of the most coveted designer awards in fashion. The European regional award will be held on 28 June 2016 in Milan.

The European nominees for the 2016/17 International Woolmark Prize are:

Womenswear
Roshi Porkar – Austria
Kimstumpf – Belgium
Cockerel – Chez Republic
Nicholas Nybro – Denmark
Etienne Deroeux – France
Tim Labenda – Germany
Giuseppe di Morabito – Italy
Peet Dullaert – Netherlands
Leandro Cano – Spain
Gülçin Çengel – Turkey

Menswear
Devon Halfnight LeFlufy – Belgium
Mirka Horka – Czech Republic
Tonsure – Denmark
Matières- France
Brachmann – Germany
Luca Larenza – Italy
Mareunrol’s – Latvia
Evan Menswear – Netherlands
Pablo Erroz – Spain
Benan Bal – Turkey

First launched in 1953 by the International Wool Secretariat, the prize was famously awarded in 1954 to Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent in Paris. Today the International Woolmark Prize continues to recognise outstanding design talent from around the world.

More than 75 designers have been selected from 62 countries to participate in this year’s award, which showcases the qualities of Australian Merino wool.

Six regional events will be held during June and July in Hong Kong, Sydney, Milan, London, New York and Mumbai. Nominees will present one look in Merino wool and a six-piece capsule concept to industry experts for the chance to represent their region at the final awards.

Twelve finalists will each receive a AU$50,000 financial contribution towards their next collection and an invitation to participate in the international finals.

The winners of the menswear and womenswear finals will receive a further AU$100,000 to assist with fabric sourcing and marketing of their collection and mentoring from industry experts. In addition, both international winners will have the opportunity to have their collection distributed through prestigious international retail partners including Harvey Nichols in the UK, Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, David Jones in Australia, Boutique 1 in the UAE, Verso in Belgium, LECLAIREUR in Paris, Boon the Shop in South Korea, The Papillion in Indonesia and online through mytheresa.com (womenswear) and Matchesfashion.com (menswear).

See you there!