Yesterday, New York designers Tanya Taylor and Siki Im took home the men’s and women’s wear trophies at the 2015/16 International Woolmark US Regional Prize. This year the international competition (kind of like the wool Olympics) is promoting the use of Australian fiber merino wool throughout the fashion industry.
A panel of established industry names like Calvin Klein’s Francisco Costa and W magazine editor-in-chief Stefano Tonchi judged this year’s 10 entrants, which also included NYC brands Lucio Castro and Novis. Their decision was based on sketches of a six-piece merino-wool capsule collection and the production of a single garment.
Costa commented that Taylor’s “innovation was evident in all aspects of the collection – from fabric choices to overall creativity. It was free-spirited, happy and playful.” While judge and menswear designer John Varvatos said of Siki Im: “[He] is an out of the box thinker. He doesn’t walk the same path as everyone else and he truly understands the functionality and potential of Merino wool.”
Im and Taylor both received monetary prizes of around $37,000 and will represent the US in the prestigious international final in January, which will require the completion of their capsule collections. Go, team USA!
Credits
Text Hana Beach