The Woolmark
Company has announced the India and
Middle East Nominees for the 2014/15 IWP, the third year of the accolade, which has become one of
the most truly coveted designer awards of our time.
For the first time, two designers will receive the
overall award, one for menswear and one for womenswear.
“FFWD is honoured to be given this opportunity to
nominate talent from our region,” said Bong Guerrero, Founder and CEO of Fashion
Forward. “The design talent in the Middle East is outstanding and we are
delighted to put forward these deserving nominations for the men’s and women’s
wear categories.”
“We chose three designers who met and exceeded the IWP
global criteria for this prestigious award. The Emperor 1688, Kage and House of
Fatam have shown exceptional talent and represent perfectly the diversity and
quality of Middle Eastern designers,” added Guerrero.
Five regional awards will be held in
Asia, Australia, Europe, India & Middle East and the USA to select the ten finalists, each receiving
AU$50,000 financial
contribution towards their next collection as well as an invitation to
participate in the international final.
The five menswear finalists will meet at
London Collections: Men in January 2015 and the five womenswear finalists will meet in
Beijing in
March 2015.
The winners of both the menswear and womenswear finals
will receive a further AU$100,000 to assist with fabric sourcing and marketing of their
collection. In addition, both international winners will have their collection commercialized through key international retail partners including
Harvey Nichols in the UK, Joyce in China, Saks Fifth Avenue in
the USA, Colette in France, 10 Corso Como in Italy, My Theresa online and David
Jones in Australia.
The nominee designers are required to present the
sketches of a Merino wool capsule collection comprising six outfits, with one
full outfit to be produced at the India & Middle East regional
award to be held in India later this year.
The collections will be judged by a panel of local and international experts,
soon to be announced.
The India & Middle-East nominees for the 2014/15 IWP
are:
Womenswear
- AKAARO - from India
- House of Fatam – from
UAE
- Kage – from UAE
- Khaadi Khaas – from Pakistan
- Lara Khoury – from Lebanon
- Bird on a Wire – from Lebanon
- Sania Maskatiya – from Pakistan
- Zubair Kirmani - from India
Menswear
- Barkha ‘n’ Sonzal – from India
- Republic – from Pakistan
- The Emperor 1688 – from
UAE
The Woolmark Company recognises the support of
Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), Pakistan Fashion Design
Council (PFDC), Fashion Forward (FFWD Limited)-UAE, & Starch
Foundation-Lebanon as the official
nominating body in India & Middle East region. Globally, the award has been
supported by key fashion councils including the Council of
Fashion Designers America, British Fashion Council, Chambre Syndicale de la
Couture, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid and Flanders Fashion
Institute.
The IWP now boasts impressive alumni of the most
important designers from around the globe, as well as partnerships established
with some of the most successful leading designers including Narciso Rodriguez,
Victoria Beckham, Diane von Furstenberg and Richard Nicoll.
“The addition of a menswear award for this year
signifies the strength and following of the International Woolmark Prize and its
impact over the past two years across the globe,” explained The Woolmark Company
Managing Director Stuart McCullough.
“Previous winners, Christian Wijnants from Belgium and
Rahul Mishra from India, have both experienced exponential increase in the
turnover of their businesses, becoming international names overnight after their
respective wins in London in 2013 and Milan in 2014.”
Learn about the Woolmark Prize at www.woolmarkprize.com
The
Woolmark Story
In 1964, the iconic Woolmark symbol was born.
Its purpose: to act as an independent quality
assurance of every product it adorns—more than 5 billion of them, so far,
making the Woolmark brand the best-known textile quality brand in the world.
As the global authority on Merino wool, The Woolmark
Company works with the global textile and fashion industries at every level,
developing better textiles and driving consumer demand.
The story begins with the farmers who rear Merino
sheep to grow and harvest the highest quality wool known to man. Working with
textile mills from Japan to Italy and everywhere in between, The
Woolmark Company invests heavily in research and
development, advancing the fibre and inspiring the world’s leading fashion
designers to craft garments from Merino wool.
For 50 years, the Woolmark logo has strived to
showcase the extraordinary versatility and innate luxury of Merino wool,
creating a fleece that to this day is coveted across the globe.
Wool is a 100 per cent natural and renewable fibre.
Sheep live on grass, water, fresh air and sunshine. Wool is a fibre that is
grown – not man-made. Every year sheep produce a new fleece, making wool a
renewable fibre source.
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