International Woolmark Prize names Not Just a Label nominating body

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Nov 5, 2015

The global community of emerging designers has become a new nominating body for the prestigious Woolmark Prize award. In this role, Not Just A Label will be responsible for selecting Eastern European designers to compete for the prize in its 2016/17 edition, which has been also extended to a new region called “Rest of Europe”.

Candidates from 36 new nations will now be able to apply for the award, won by Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent at the beginning of their careers. Some of the new nations include Albania, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Slovakia and Ukraine.

As an official partner, Not Just A Label will judge submissions and shortlist 10 candidates for the “Rest of Europe” nomination together with a jury of industry figures. A womenswear designer and a menswear designer will be then chosen to represent the region and compete in the International European regional contest, with a chance to receive $50,000 Australian dollars and an invitation to compete in the global IWP final. 

NJAL is a digital platform for showcasing and nurturing emerging talent. It features over 18,000 designers to date and helps them gain exposure in the fashion industry. Founded by Stefan Siegal, it joins other IWP nominating bodies such as The British Fashion Council, Vogue, Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), and the Centre for Fashion Enterprise.