COTTWEILER and Faustine Steinmetz have been announced as the menswear and womenswear winners, respectively, of the 2016/17 International Woolmark Prize British Isles regional final. TOPMAN Creative Director, Gordon Richardson; Fashion Designer, Roksanda Ilincic; Dylan Jones, OBE, Editor British GQ; Emily Sheffield, Deputy Editor, British Vogue; Anita Barr, Group Fashion Buying Director, Harvey Nichols; Simon Chilvers, Men’s Style Director, MATCHESFASHION.COM; and Bridget Cosgrave, Fashion and Buying Director, Boutique 1 Group selected the winners at an awards event held at the Australian High Commission in London. The designers behind the brand COTTWEILER Ben Cottrell and Matthew Dainty, presented a forward-thinking design and worked with an Italian mill that specialises in technical, high performance sportswear to create their winning menswear look. Faustine Steinmetz worked with the raw Merino wool fibre for her winning womenswear outfit, carding and dyeing it in different shades of indigo before felting it onto a Merino base fabric. Chosen from the most promising fashion design talents from the British Isles, both winners gain a financial contribution of AU$50,000, approximately £28,6171, plus the opportunity to represent the British Isles and compete in the international final. In addition, each winner will receive mentoring support from a global panel of experts along with being granted a Woolmark licence. The winning designers will be required to develop a capsule collection in Merino wool for the next six months, to be showcased at one of two events that will highlight the six menswear finalists and six womenswear finalists selected from across the globe. The final for menswear will be held on schedule during London Collections Men and the womenswear final will be held in Paris, both in January 2017.

www.woolmarkprize.com
@woolmark
www.cottweiler.com
@COTTWEILER
www.faustinesteinmetz.com
@F_Steinmetz
#woolmarkprize