On your marks

Indian designer brands like Antar-Agni, Dhruv Kapoor and Pero will compete with the contemporaries from countries like Pakistan and Middle East to get into the final list at the The International Woolmark Prize (IWP) 2017-18. Rahul Mishra from India is one of the previous winners of IWP.

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The Woolmark Company is reinforcing its commitment to supporting emerging design talent by enhancing the prize money for the prestigious International Woolmark Prize. The list of the nominees for Indian, Pakistan and Middle East have been announced.

In the Menswear category, there will be three Indian names: Antar-Agni, Dhruv Kapoor and Theorem along with Varoin Marwah from Dubai and Ziggi Menswear from Pakistan.

In the Womenswear category, there is Bodice, Pero and Hemang Agrawal from India who will compete with Matar from Bahrain; Khadija Rahman from Pakistan; Nour Najem and Timi Hayek from Lebanon and Zonia Anwaar from Pakistan.

Each of the 65 global nominees will receive AU$2000 to assist in the development of their submission piece, ahead of the regional finals to be held in Dubai, London, Milan, New York, Seoul and Sydney throughout July, said a statement.

In addition, each regional menswear and womenswear winner will this year receive AU$70,000 to go towards their final collection. Prize money for the two eventual winners has also increased, with the global menswear and womenswear winner each receiving AU$200,000.

“Due to increasing pressures on young designers, we have restructured our program spend with a greater focus on the design talent and our partners,” said Stuart McCullough, The Woolmark Company’s managing director.

The newly introduced Innovation Award has been created to celebrate the most unique and creative fabric or yarn development from a finalist. The winner of the Innovation Award will be granted AU$100,000 as well as being presented with commercial opportunities.

—IANS