The International Woolmark Prize is one of the most significant events on the fashion calendar to unearth rising stars in the field and the 2018 ceremony was no different.
This year, the judging panel gathered in Florence, Italy to view the finalists’ collections and vote on who should walk away with the top prize. The judging panel included Buro 24/7 founder Miroslava Duma, as well as Phillip Lim, Livia Firth, Liya Kebede and System Magazine‘s Elizabeth Von Guttman among others.
For the first time, at this year’s ceremony Miroslava presented the inaugural Innovation Award, developed in partnership with Future Tech Lab (formerly Fashion Tech Lab). The award went to DYNE, a US label created by Christopher Banes who has previously worked at Nike, Yeezy and Billionaire Boys Club. Presenting the award Miroslava said, “Nowadays your story has to be responsible, has to be sustainable and has to be innovative” and on why the label was chosen out of the 65 entrants, she explained, “For me he was definitely the leader in innovation. The NFC chips he embedded in his collection, and the fabrication of the snowboard gear, really stood out. He really thinks about technology every step of the way.”
As for the men’s and women’s categories, Matthew Miller and Bodice took out the top prizes respectively. Each will be given Dhs575,000 to help support the growth of the label and will also receive mentoring from some of fashion’s biggest names.
Now, see the best street style looks from Men’s London Fashion Week.
