London Fashion Week favourite Richard Malone beat off tough competition
from the likes of A-Cold-Wall* and Bode to be crowned the 2020
International Woolmark Prize winner.
Malone, showcased a collection inspired by his upbringing in Wexford for
the final that was praised by the judging panel for featuring “considered,
functional and beautifully made garments that minimise harm to
the environment and work towards creating a circular, sustainable fashion
system”.
The Irish designer eliminated traditional chemicals within his
collection to provide a natural, less intensive method of dyeing,
by working with a society of skilled weavers in Tamil Nadu, India,
who used completely organic and plant-based dyes as well as more recent
innovations using Merino wool and other conscious fibres.
“Winning the Woolmark Prize is completely unexpected,” said Malone after
the show. “It means we can continue working with this supply chain and
share our learning with other brands and designers. It also opens up the
dialogue of fashion so more people can be part of it. Thank you to
Australia’s woolgrowers for growing this incredible fibre.”
As winner, Malone was awarded with 200,000 Australian dollars.
Richard Malone and Bode crowned winners at International Woolmark
Prize
As well as the International Woolmark Prize, the inaugural The Karl
Lagerfeld Award for Innovation was presented, awarded to American designer
Emily Adams Bode for her “outstanding creativity and innovation”, which
Woolmark stated are the same characteristics which led to Lagerfeld’s
award-winning and history-making success back in the 1954 awards.
The award was presented by Carine Roitfeld, the founder and
editor-in-chief of CR Fashion Book, who said: “Bode’s story of working with
old pieces and transforming them took me back to my childhood. When I was
young there was no fashion like there is today so I would go to the flea
market and my mother and I would sew patches onto clothes to make them new.
Bode’s collection reminds me of this time and I like that.”
For her Woolmark collection, Bode mixed deadstock fabrics found in
abandoned factories, to create overcoats and suits composed of reclaimed
and remade equine show blankets, traceable and certified Merino wool
jacquard knits inspired by stitch samples from a retired 1930s knitting
factory, and housecoats built from hundreds of individually crocheted
Merino wool fleurettes.
Commenting on her win, Adams Bode said: “I’m really excited that this is
the first Karl Lagerfeld Innovation Award. He’s been such an idol and
inspiration for me. I’m also really excited to build on all the
relationships I have made during my Woolmark Prize journey.”
As the innovation award winner, Bode also wins 100,000 Australian
dollars.
The 2020 Woolmark Prize had 10 finalists: A-Cold-Wall* – UK; Blindness –
South Korea; Bode – US; Botter – The Netherlands; Feng Chen Wang – China
and UK; GmbH – Germany; Ludovic de Saint Sernin – France; Matthew Adams
Dolan – US; Namacheko – Belgium; and Richard Malone – Ireland.
This year’s final was judged by a panel including Tim Blanks, Hamish
Bowles, Sinead Burke, Edward Enninful, Kim Jones, Takashi Murakami, Holli
Rogers, Anja Rubik and Shaway Yeh.
“What I’m loving this year is the use of wool mixed with
sustainability,” explained Edward Enninful, editor of Vogue UK. “The
Woolmark Prize for me is a sign of excellence; it puts designers on an
international level.”
Image: courtesy of The Woolmark Company
