Celebrating breakout designers from around the world who use Australian Merino Wool in their work, the International Woolmark Prize held its annual competition as part of London Fashion Week last night. 

With previous winners including Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent, this year’s winner came in the form of Dazed 100-er Richard Malone, straight off the back of his AW20 show. 

“It’s a brilliant surprise,” Malone said. “These things often don't play out as you hope, or perhaps think they should.”

With each designer tasked with the job of creating a capsule collection using Merino wool, Malone’s winning offering was inspired by his upbringing in Wexford, Ireland. Often referring to his heritage within his collections, which typically consist of structural garments executed in earthy colour tones, this time around saw Malone work with a community of weavers in Tamil Nadu, India, using organic and plant-based dyes.

Taking home the AU$200,000 prize, Malone will also receive mentoring along with connections to boutiques and retailers.

Other finalists including GmbH, the Berlin-based label who sought to explore how to use wool in ‘body-hugging clubwear and sculptured tailoring’, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, who created a sexy collection with plenty of ‘fun cut-outs’, and Samuel Ross of A-COLD-WALL*, who expanded on his use of wool having used it throughout earlier collections. 

Judged by the likes of Kim Jones, Takashi Murakami, and Edward Enninful, Luka Sabbat acted as the evening’s ambassador. Jones, the creative director of Dior Homme said of the competition, “It’s great to support young talent. I also really appreciate the work GmbH are doing. They have a unique voice and point of view, and they live the life of the clothes they make.”

Look back at Richard Malone’s AW19 collection above.