I was lucky enough to be invited to the International Woolmark Prize,
which is one of the world's greatest supporters of young design. The winner of
the Prize, one of six finalists, receives $100,000 and an order from supporting
retail giants like Bergdorf Goodman, Harvey Nichols and 10 Corso Como.
Basically, it's a big — and career making — deal. An even bigger deal: the
judges. Diane Von Furstenberg, Carla Sozzani, Victoria Beckham and the ultimate
in fashion fabulous, Donatella Versace, were all enlisted to vote on the
winner. It was pretty fantastic to see these epic ladies all together, to
support young designers who may, one day, be household names themselves.
The
six finalists each represented a different country — from Japan to Australia —
and all had something individual to say. I won't lie and say I wasn't cheering
for Australia's Dion Lee, whose sinuous dresses and coats are a feat of
precision tailoring. But he was in great company: representing the United
States was the charming Frenchie, Sophie Theallet, and, in a "where did he
come from?" moment, appeared Belgian designer Christian Wijnants. Wignants,
who works primarily with knits, presented a small collection of sculptural
sweaters, dresses and coats in gradations of both color and knit that had
Victoria Beckham asking him exactly how he did it.
In the end, it was unanimous. Wijnants was the winner - not just
for his knits, but for his elegance and, yes, his wit. We will be hearing
much more of him. Congratulations.
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