NATIONAL: Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) has confirmed the latest crop of potential winners in its upcoming design award program.
With finalists including Ant!podium, Ellery, Gary Bigeni, Konstantina Mittas, Romance Was Born, and Therese Rawsthorne, the wool research and marketing body will hand out the LMFF Designer Award - presented by Woolmark – at the 2009 L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF) on March 17.
In addition to a $10,000 cash prize, the winner will receive special introductions to AWI's global supply chain network of spinners, knitters and mills, in conjunction with an AWI-hosted trip to either the Pitti Filati (Florence) or Premier Vision (Paris) expo.
A regular feature of the LMFF program, the Designer Award presented by Woolmark was established to provide educational and business development opportunities for Australian fashion designers in the early stages of their career.
Last year's winner was Ben Pollitt, head designer at Sydney-based label Friedrich Gray.