Christian Wijnants wins Woolmark prize

Belgian fashion designer Christian Wijnants was announced as the winner of the International Woolmark Prize, at an event held over the weekend during London Fashion Week. Representing Europe, Wijnants receives the 100,000 Australian dollars,

and his winning collection will be rolled out into large retailers including Harvey Nichols here in the UK, Bergdorf Goodman in the US, 10 Corso Como in Italy, Joyce in China, Eickoff in Germany and David Jones in Australia in September this year.

Held in the ME London, the final was opened by Natalie Massenet, Chairman of the British Fashion Council and the six finalists were judged by a panel that included Victoria Beckham, Donatella Versace, Diane von Furstenberg, Franca Sozzani and Tim Blanks.

Each designer presented a capsule Merino wool collection and Wijnants impressed the judges with his seamless garment designs, with his pieces knitted in one piece featuring hand-knitting and hand-dyeing techniques, using deep colours inspired by crystals and minerals, and experimenting to obtain unique shades and avoid shrinkage.

“Christian invented a new shape and made it possible with an industrial production process,” explained Franca Sozzani, Editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia and L’Uomo Vogue. “His designs are flattering, feminine and sexy, a modern interpretation of wool.”

The other finalists were Sophie Theallet from the US, Ban Xiao Xiu from China, Dion Lee from Australia, DressedUndressed from Japan, and Pankaj and Nidhi from India.

The global fashion competition recognises creativity in merino wool with the aim of developing the next generation of fashion talent has spanned twelve months, reached sixteen countries and involved more than seventy designers, with six finalists representing Australia, China, Europe, India, Japan and the USA.

The Woolmark Company Managing Director, Stuart McCullough said: “The International Woolmark Prize seeks outstanding and emerging talent from around the world, and we saw exceptional artisanship and design presented. The prize is our commitment to supporting the future of the fashion industry and we are honoured to have received support from the global industry by way of our premier retail partners and judges both at the international and regional level.”

The 2014 award ceremony will take place in Milan, and the following year in Paris, where the Woolmark company has just opened a new office.

The award is supported internationally by the key fashion councils, including the Council of Fashion Designers of America, British Fashion Council, Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid and Premsela Foundation.

Image: Woolmark