(On July 22nd, the fashion parade descended upon the Manzil Hotel in Downtown Dubai to see Suket Dhir and Taller Marmo being announced the regional winners for the International Woolmark Prize 2015/16 for menswear and womenswear, respectively. Read on for a brief history of this prize and details of the regional which saw our own local talent represented by Sania Maskatiya, Misha Lakhani, and Republic by Omar Farooq. )
The International Wool Secretariat (IWS) was formed following the daring decision by Australian woolgrowers in 1936 to impose taxes on each bale of wool produced in order to promote their product globally. Fast forward to 1953 – the launch of the prestigious Woolmark Prize by the IWS to highlight the versatility and modernity of wool. It has included, then unknown designers, Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent as the winners in 1954, judged by a panel including Hubert de Givenchy Pierre Balmain. As time passed the growing popularity of synthetic fibres posed great challenges against pure wool and in retaliation the Woolmark label was born, under Sir William Vines. The iconic logo(the five black bands criss-crossing to form a skein-shape) designed by Italian graphic designer Francesco Saroglia in 1964 still remains one of the most well-known and well reputed brands globally.
the designers who represented Pakistan – Sania Maskatiya, Misha Lakhani & Omar Farooq of Republic in the regional finals and wish the winners good luck with the upcoming events. Our local talent showcased at a global platform this time and we are sure they will do so again in the future.
