On March 17th, 2015, Marcia Patmos, designer of M.PATMOS was announced the winner of the 2015 womens International Woolmark Prize (IWP), during the awards event in Bejing.
An esteemed judging panel including iconic designer and style icon, Victoria Beckham, Angelica Cheung, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue China, Franca Sozzani, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Italia, World—renowned fashion commentator Colin McDowell and Malcolm Carfrae, Global Head of Communications, Public Relations and Media at Ralph Lauren,sat alongside representatives from IWP retail partners(including Colleen Sherin, VP, Fashion Director at Saks Fifth Avenue) to select M.PATMOS representing the USA as the winner.
After a global search, reaching across 21 countries and involving more than 60 designers, M.PATMOS competed against four other selected design talents from around the world during an intense judging session: V Major from China, STRATEAS.CARLUCCI from Australia, AUGUSTIN TABOUL from Germany and Bird on a Wire from Lebanon.
Victoria Beckham said, “The International Woolmark Prize gives emerging talent from wherever they are an incredible opportunity. I am really excited to be here in Beijing to be part of this event. I felt that Patmos embodied best what the IWP stands for. The collection was well executed and the concept interesting.”
Fellow judge, Colin McDowell, fashion commentator/journalist, added: “I thought that it was a very sophisticated collection which used Merino wool to make clothes that were elegant but also young in spirit.”
“Thank you to The Woolmark Company for creating this great platform to support emerging designers,” said Marcia Patmos on her big win. “I am looking forward to seeing what happens as a result of this new opportunity.”
In addition to prestigious recognition, the winner receives a fi nancial contribution of AU$100,000 (US$76,366) and the opportunity to be stocked in the most important retailers around the globe including Saks Fifth Avenue, Harvey Nichols, 10 Corso Como, JOYCE, Isetan Mitsukoshi, David Jones and Mytheresa.com.
The collection will be available in partner retailers globally from August 2015.
Edited by Li Yili