MELBOURNE: Rebel fashion label Romance Was Born was in celebratory mood last night, having taken out the 2009 L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival Designer Award.
Label founders Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales beat off stiff competition from 2009 finalists Ant!podium, Gary Bigeni, Ellery, Konstantina Mittas and Therese Rawsthorne to clinch the prize.
The L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival Designer Award, presented by Woolmark and supported by Vogue, was created to nurture emerging Australian designers, while also promoting the potential for innovation afforded by wool.
Judges said they were impressed by Romance Was Born's autumn winter 2009 'Yeti Magic' range, which featured the playful and innovative use of Australian Merino wool.
Presenting the award at a ceremony at Melbourne's Docklands, Brenda McGahan, CEO of Woolmark owner Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), said Romance Was Born's triumph was well-deserved.
"The Woolmark brand has a long history of supporting fashion creativity and emerging designer talent; Romance Was Born's spectacular win continues the proud tradition of Australian wool and innovative fashion design," she said.
In addition to the industry accolade, Romance Was Born received a $10,000 cash prize and an AWI-hosted trip to either the Pitti Filati fashion fair in Florence or the Premiere Vision trade event in Paris, promising introductions to AWI's global supply chain network of spinners, knitters and mills.
Last year's winner Ben Pollitt, founder of the Friedrich Gray label, said his win secured vital support from the media, buyers and industry and led to significant growth opportunities for Friedrich Gray.