Woolmark's Star Designers

TEATUM JONES, J JS Lee, Thomas Tait, Fyodor Golan and Phoebe English have been announced as the womenswear nominees for this year's 2015/16 International Woolmark Prize. And, in a double whammy of Woolmark news, it coincides with the announcement of the British Isles being added as its own region to the competition - where in the past it had been combined with Europe. "The decision to expand the International Woolmark Prize to six regions to include the British Isles was due to industry demands. The UK is one of wool's most tightly held markets. It is an important market from a trade and consumer perspective," says Stuart McCullough, managing director of The Woolmark Company. "It is also the most important market to inform global trends." Lee Roach, Kit Neale, Craig Green, Agi & Sam and Adrien Sauvage complete the menswear nominees line-up for the prize. First held in 1953 as an initiative of the International Wool Secretariat, the award was won the following year by none other than Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent. The prize was revived again in 2012 to promote a fresh new crop of talent working with Australian Merino wool. More than 60 designers from over 20 countries now take part. Five other regional awards will be held - in Shanghai, Sydney, Antwerp, Dubai and New York - to select the eventual 12 global finalists, who will all receive a financial contribution of AU$50,000 to their next collection, as well as an invitation to participate in the international final. The overall winner will receive a further AU$100,000. The British Isles regional award will take place on July 3 2015. See the sketches of the nominees and their proposed capsule collection entries above.