FASHION designers behind brands Exinfinitas and macgraw are the menswear and womenswear winners of the 2016/17 International Woolmark Prize Australia & New Zealand regional final.
macgraw duo, Beth and Tessa MacGraw, won the womenswear section with an overcoat made of 17-18 micron Australian Merino wool and a pure wool dress made of 19.5 micron suiting fabric from Shandong Ruyi.
Menswear winner Exinfinitas fused surf culture with tailoring in an innovative way using Australian Merino wool in different weights and textures to offer a modern take on menswear.
Designer Lukas Vincent's piece involved suiting fabric of 19.5 micron from Shandong Ruyi Textiles as well as Merino wool from 15 microns to 21.5 microns.
Judge Jason Wu said the level of talent was really high.
“All of the designers showed a great balance of creativity and commercialisation, which is integral today,” Mr Wu said.
“Their ability to present, to share their point of view, and the amount of stores they are already stocked in speaks lengths of their talent,” Wu said.
“To the judging panel, they seemed the most ready to advance to the next stage.”
He said Mr Vincent had “a unique use of wool”.
“… he really transformed the material and definitely stood out as the clear winner,” Mr Wu said.
An additional 36 countries have been included in this year’s International Woolmark Prize award. This includes New Zealand, Indonesia and the expansion of the European category. Six regional events are held in Hong Kong, Milan, Mumbai, New York, London, and Sydney to judge the regional winners.
Regional winners gain a financial contribution of $50,000, plus the opportunity to compete in the prestigious international final. In addition, each winner will receive mentoring support from a global panel of experts along with being granted a Woolmark licence.
The winners were selected by designer Jason Wu, Hugo Boss artistic director Hugo Boss, designer Richard Nicoll, Health and Lifestyle NewsLifeMedia’s Nick Smith, InStyle Australia editor Emily Taylor, Harper’s BAZAAR editor in chief Kellie Hush, David Jones’ Glenn Elliott and Damian Burke, and fashion editor and author Mitchell Oakley Smith at an awards event held in Sydney, Australia.
The final for menswear will be held during London Collections Men and the womenswear final will be held in Paris, both in January 2017.
The winners of the menswear and womenswear global finals will receive a further AU$100,000 to assist with fabric sourcing and marketing of their collection, as well as mentoring from industry experts.
