The International Woolmark Prize is an award for outstanding achievers in the early stages of their career who have shown promise and dedication in establishing and growing a fashion business.

This global initiative crosses borders and cultures to identify the most important designers of the future and highlights the modernity of Merino wool within their collections. The competition is open to both men’s and womenswear designers.

Previous U.S. Winners include CFDA Members Sophie Theallet for 2012/13, Joseph Altuzarra for 2013/14, and for the most recent 2014/15 edition, M. Patmos for womenswear and Public School for menswear. Both Public School and M.Patmos went on to win the International prize for their respective categories.

A men’s and womenswear regional finalist will be awarded AU$50,000 each and the opportunity to compete at the international final events in 2017. The global men’s and womenswear winners will be awarded a further AU$100,000, and their winning collections will be commercialized through a network of leading retail stores including Saks Fifth Avenue, New York; Harvey Nichols, London; Boutique 1, UAE; David Jones, Sydney; Isetan Mitsukoshi, Tokyo; mytheresa.com, matchesfashion.com and 10 Corso Como, Milan, China and Beijing. A full competition overview can be accessed here.

IF YOU ARE A DESIGNER, OR LABEL, WHO FIT THE CRITERIA BELOW AND WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR NOMINATION, PLEASE SUBMIT A COMPLETED SUBMISSION FORM BY FEBRUARY 23, 2016 TO ASHLEY SANDALL AT A.SANDALL@CFDA.COM