Australian wool inspires new directions in Australian fashion

Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) will again present the Designer Award at the 2009 L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF) on 17 March.
This year’s finalists – Ant!podium, Ellery, Gary Bigeni, Konstantina Mittas, Romance Was Born, and Therese Rawsthorne – will vie for the coveted 2009 prize and a chance to join the ranks of fashion designers who have been honoured by the Woolmark® brand, one of the world’s most recognized textile symbols.
In addition to a $10,000 cash prize, the winner of the LMFF Designer Award presented by Woolmark® will receive special introductions to AWI’s global supply chain network of spinners, knitters, and mills in conjunction with an AWI-hosted trip to either Pitti Filati (Florence) or Premier Vision (Paris).
A highlight of the annual LMFF program and hotly contested within the fashion industry, the Designer Award presented by Woolmark® provides valuable educational and business development opportunities for Australian fashion designers in the early stages of their career.
Last year’s winner was head designer at Sydney-based label Friedrich Gray, Ben Pollitt, who since receiving the award has grown the label from strength to strength and continues to use Australian Merino fabrics in novel and exciting ways.
Wool is one of the oldest and most respected fibres used by man. Natural, biodegradable, and sustainable*, it is the natural choice for fashion.
*Sustainable – Every year Australian Merino sheep produce new fleece, making Merino a renewable fibre source. Australian woolgrowers actively work to improve efficiency and care for natural resources, pursing the sustainability of the Australian wool industry for generations to come.