Woolmark is shaking up its global fashion competition for 2025

The Woolmark Company has expanded its International Woolmark Prize to a two-year program from 2025.

Launched in 1953, the awards program provides emerging designers with education, financial investment and industry support to encourage the use of wool in their collections. Applications are currently open to designers from all over the world and close on June 30, 2024.

In addition to the expansion of the prize to a two-year program, the assessment criteria have also shifted, with a greater focus on sustainability and innovation.

The winner of the International Woolmark Prize in 2025 will receive an increased prize fund of AU$300,000 and for the first time, the Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation will be expanded into an industry award, presented to any brand within the fashion industry that pushed the boundaries of innovation in merino wool.

“The International Woolmark Prize is committed to supporting young talent,” said Woolmark CEO John Roberts. “To do this effectively, designers need more financial support, better access to sustainable materials and time to innovate with the latest technology.

“Our revised program better reflects the changing needs of the industry.”

After applications close, an advisory board of industry experts will work side-by-side with Woolmark to select finalists.

The Advisory Board consists of Business of Fashion editor-in-chief Tim Blanks; fashion editor and stylist Gabriella Karefa Johnson; founder and creative director of her eponymous label Gabriela Hearst; Tilting the Lens founder Sinéad Burke; head of Tmall Luxury Pavilion Janet Wang; Eco Age founder Livia Firth; and creative director Sara Sozzani Maino of Fondazione Sozzani.

In 2023, Nigerian non-binary fashion label Lagos Space Program won the International Woolmark Prize, while Copenhagen knitwear label A. Roege Hove scooped the Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation.

Both brands received AU$200,000 and AU$100,000 respectively, as well as continued support from the industry and Woolmark Prize retail partners.