INTERNATIONAL WOOLMARK PRIZE 2013/14

Photographer - Lorenzo Bringheli

Styling - Paolo Turina @ Freelancer Artist Agency

Makeup Artist - Alessandra Casoni @ Freelancer Artist Agency

Makeup Artist - Rachid Tahar @ Freelancer Artist Agency

Hairstylist - Mimmo Di Maggio @ Freelancer Artist Agency - Milano

Joseph Altuzarra for USA 
Sibling for Europe
Christopher Esber for Australia
Rahul Mishra for India and Middle East
ffiXXed for Asia

With clean structures and pure silhouettes, Altuzarra looks beyond the normal to try new things. Representing the USA, Joseph Altuzarra is working with wool to offer an extension of his label and create a capsule collection worthy of the world's stage.

Since bursting onto New York City's fashion scene in 2008, Joseph Altuzarra and his eponymous label have continued to embody the quintessential modern woman and make her feel sexy and confidant. Awarded for his stunning three-piece wool outfit, which included wool shoes, at the USA regional event for the 2013/14 International Woolmark Prize, Altuzarra has remained consistent in the label's trademark style.

 

The chance to show a six-piece capsule collection in front of fashion industry heavyweights is a chance for the New York-based designer to explore and extend what is engrained within the label's design philosophy. For the young designer, he sees the 2013/14 International Woolmark Prize as the opportunity to look beyond what he has previously done with wool and to try new things.

 

"We approached the Woolmark capsule collection very much as an extension of what Altuzarra is as a brand. We really thought about what Altuzarra meant and how experimenting with wool could add to that message and could live within the universe that we've created for the brand.

 

"As a brand I think we're always interested in a certain purity of silhouette, or a certain aesthetic that is usually a structure; a little more clean."

 

And should Altuzarra emerge victorious from the global final, the label and all it stands for will not only receive AUD$100,000 in prize money, but also the chance to take the designer's trans-continental message overseas and onto the racks of the world’s leading retailers such as Harvey Nichols in London, 10 Corso Como in Milan, JOYCE in Hong Kong and David Jones in Sydney.

Though not related by blood, this trio forms a bond as tight as the closest of families. With the philosophy 'all for one and one for all', SIBLING stirs the pot when it comes to traditional knitwear and the label's DNA is both unique and recognisable within the clothes they craft.

For Cozette McCreery, Sid Bryan and Joe Bates, the thought of showing off their clothes to an international audience during Milan Fashion Week is an experience not taken for granted. The trio - who collectively are known as SIBLING - are putting the finishing touches on  a six-piece Merino wool capsule collection which will make up the label's final submission for the 2013/14 International Woolmark Prize.

 

The London-based label is designing by its mission: 'let's put the fun into classics', and has been exploring the different ways to work with wool. At the Europe regional final in Milan, SIBLING won because they created the perfect storm: stunning technique, a crazy level of creativity and a keen appreciation of wool's endless potential, according to Style.com editor-at-large and International Woolmark Prize judge Tim Blanks. The winning design, a knitted wool bodysuit and jacket encapsulated the SIBLING signature DNA, a celebration of youthfulness, fun and optimism and the fibre's versatility allowed the label achieve effects not possible with other fabrics.

 

"We had the opportunity to create incredible surfaces through stitch, and the volume and the three-dimensional silhouette we created those two seasons were purely down to the fact of the versatility of that wool," explains Sid Bryan. "Being a part of the whole Woolmark experience is massively beneficial from an international exposure point of view. We had instant, instant international presence which we didn't have before."

 

The trio are excited to return to Milan for the global final, as it is a market that SIBLING believes they are ready to enter.

 

"We're personally really selfishly really happy it's in Milan this year; it's in Italy we're really keen to get a good exposure to the brand," said Bates. "We're determined every step that what we make is well thought out and has the best chance of success it could possibly have."

Only a few years ago a young Christopher Esber was graduating from college, trying to make a name for himself in the world of fashion. He stormed onto the Australian fashion scene in 2012 at Australian Fashion Week, and since then he has been recognised with award after award. Now, he is going on to represent Australia at the 2013/14 International Woolmark Prize global final.

The road to Milan has been a challenging but exciting one for Christopher Esber and his competitors. In a few months he has had to design and create a six-piece Merino wool capsule collection which not only has the 'wow' factor to impress a panel of industry heavyweights, but a collection which also has to pass a strict set of industry specifications to gain the Woolmark stamp of approval.

 

"It's almost like the Fashion Olympics; it feels like I’m really representing the country," Esber says just weeks before the global final which will be staged during Milan Fashion Week. "I think for me and the brand it's a big recognition to be entrusted with that."

 

For Esber, this is the first time he has been able to showcase his craftsmanship on an international scale, and whilst he may be suppressing those inevitable butterflies in his stomach, he appears his usual cool, calm and collected self and reminisces of when he first started to make a name for the Christopher Esber brand and tap into the Australian market.

 

"It's my first time doing anything internationally, so it's been quite amazing. It kind of feels like when I first started out in Australia; it's like a new market and doing all that initial prep work.

 

"What's so unique about this competition is that it's not just about my brand, but how my brand works with wool, so trying to find what is the right message and all the processes we need to do with developing and testing really pushes for something quite unique, and I’m hoping that the results really sends that message across."

 

Part of the requirements for each designer's capsule collection is that each garment is made from at least 80 per cent Merino wool. In addition, they must also meet The Woolmark Company’s specifications which ensure fibre content and guarantee quality, so choosing the right fabric is important for the designers whilst also toying with new techniques and technical advancements.

 

At the Australia regional event held in July 2013, Esber was awarded for utilising innovative wool product developments in the form of deconstructed suiting and so it seems the choice - and use - of fabrics is something that Esber holds close to his heart.

 

"I guess I want to empower women - having something that's strong and empowered when you wear it but also there's something quite delicate and feminine about it."

Representing India and the Middle East, Rahul Mishra's entire design philosophy revolves around sustainability. His idea to create sustainable luxury is woven throughout all facets of his work - from working with natural fibres to creating a production pipeline which promotes a sustainable way of life.

When you look through the history books and see the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent associated with the Woolmark Prize, it is little wonder why Indian fashion designer Rahul Mishra feels honoured to be competing in the modern incarnation of the award.

 

"When you look at the kind of designers who have won it in the past it's any designer's  dream," muses Mishra just weeks before the global International Woolmark Prize final to be staged during Milan Fashion Week.

 

"I am very lucky to have started my career at the time when (the) Woolmark (prize) was launched. And just getting a chance altogether to showcase my work to the best people in the business itself has been an incredible experience."

 

Representing India and the Middle East, Mishra edged out nine other fashion designers and labels at July’s regional event. He was praised by judges for his stunning wool outfit which presented the portrayal of the journey of the human race and the process that our planet has undergone in the past century. The winning garment displayed progressive graphic hand-embroidery with Merino wool yarn on a Merino wool jacket dress, and the graphic design originates from an eight petal lotus to morph into complex structures.

 

Perhaps the lotus-like design stems from Mishra's passion for sustainability, and so it seems apt that the designer feels so at home when working with wool - a natural, renewable and biodegradable fibre. He is not merely trying to bring his design sketches to life, but rather bring to life his entire design philosophy.

 

"I have always believed from the beginning of my career about sustainability; that is why sustainable luxury is the world for me. My idea is to create new jobs which help (people) in their own villages - I take work to them rather than calling them to work for me. If villages are stronger you will have a stronger country, a stronger nation, a stronger world. So my entire idea, my entire philosophy, revolves around that.

 

"The product will go through evolution - it will change, it will improve - but a philosophy is what is constant."

Ahead of the final showdown in Milan, ffiXXed bring an exclusive first look at the collection they hope will secure this year's International Woolmark Prize.

As Milan fashion week draws near, and with it the runway finals of the 2013/14 International Woolmark Prize (IWP), comes the culmination of a year of hard graft for designers Kain Picken and Fiona Lau. Their label ffiXXed was victorious at the Asia regional finals and the pair has been preparing a capsule collection to take to Italy for several months.

 

"We wanted the Woolmark [collection] to feel like it was just an extension of our normal collection that just was pointed in a specific way," Picken says. "We didn't want it to feel like it was really removed or wouldn’t be recognisable as any other ffiXXed collection."

 

Designing for the IWP did present its own specific challenges for the pair. Accustomed to designing full-scale collections incorporating a range of themes and relationships, Picken admits that "when you only have six outfits, it's much harder to do that".

 

The Australian designers, based in Hong Kong, formed their partnership incorporating their different creative fields (Picken is from the art world, Lau from the fashion industry) and the collaboration is now taking them to the home of fashion in Milan. At stake? Prize money of AUD$100,000 and the opportunity to see the capsule collection on the racks of the biggest retailers in the world, including Harvey Nichols of London, Saks Fifth Avenue in New York and Joyce in Hong Kong.

 

Either way, the IWP will expose ffiXXed to the world, and give the pair a chance to share the universal philosophy behind their art/fashion fusion.