Aspiring fashion designers in the New England and beyond are being encouraged to get creative for the 2023 Fleece to Fashion Awards.
Entries are now open for this year’s awards which aims to bring together the farming and fashion communities to celebrate wool, through seven different open award categories, which include, special occasion, performance wear, wearable art, global cultures, wool re-imagined, wedding and special awards.
The award prize pool includes cash prizes and experiences for young and up and coming designers who are either studying at school or a tertiary institution. These include an internship with Australian Wool Innovation and a trip to Los Angeles for the international Woolmark Awards and a three-month mentorship with designer Akira Isogawa.
Fleece to Fashion Chairman and Armidale wool grower Lachlan Fulloon says the awards provide a way to promote the versatility of the fibre.
“We want to keep wool at the top of the fashion industry’s list of favoured fibres,”
“Connecting the next generation of designers with the New England wool growing community fosters deep appreciation for how farming and fashion can work together to showcase this remarkable fibre and keep it on the world’s catwalks,” he said.”
The judging panel includes well-known fashion personalities, Jonathon Ward, Akira Isowaga and Melissa Hoyer. Winners will be announced at the award presentation dinner at the historic Deeargee Woolshed in Uralla in November.
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