$100,000 AUD sponsorship awarded at London final of The International Woolmark Prize

Designer Christian Wijnants has triumphed and won $100,000 AUD in sponsorship at the London final of The Woolmark Company's global fashion competition.

Natalie Massenet, Chairman of the British Fashion Council opened the event last weekend before a judging panel including Victoria Beckham, Donatella Versace, Diane von Furstenberg, Franca Sozzani and Tim Blanks selected the winner.

The Woolmark Company's 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 tonight. 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".

After a global search spanning twelve months, reaching across sixteen countries and involving over seventy designers, six finalists representing Australia, China, Europe, India, Japan and the USA competed for the final international prize - of $100,000 AUD and the opportunity to be stocked in the most important boutiques around the globe, including Harvey Nichols in London, Bergdorf Goodman in New York, 10 Corso Como in Milan, Joyce in China, David Jones in Sydney and Eickhoff Königsallee in Germany.

Christian Wijnants capsule Merino wool collection featured at the awards was based on the simple idea of starting from a single white yarn and exploring all its potential. The designer worked with one type of yarn in 100% Merino Wool, on seamless garments, knitted in one piece.

The six finalists were:

Dion Lee - Australia
Ban Xiao Xue - China
Christian Wijnants - Europe (Belgium)
Pankaj and Nidhi - India
DRESSEDUNDRESSED - Japan
Sophie Theallet - USA

The leading theme was based on hand-knitting and hand-dyeing techniques, using deep colours inspired by crystals and minerals, and experimenting to obtain unique shades and avoid shrinkage. Every piece was dyed with innovative techniques, and some of them unravelled and then re-knitted to create a unique irregular effect.

The collection will be available in partner retailers globally as of September 2013.

The final award event featured NEXT Models, with make-up by MAC and hair by Lyndell Mansfield and team at CLM. The official airline partner for the event was Qantas.