Ones to watch
As the fashion world looks to find answers to the sustainability question, these designers are a step ahead, focusing on the innovation of a fibre steeped in prestige.
When Edward Crutchley stepped up to accept not one, but two International Woolmark Prize awards for both Menswear and Innovation in 2019, he set a precedence that will be hard to match. Working with textiles in a way that is both experimental and deeply considered, Crutchley’s win signalled a new era for young designers by taking not just the fabric but the very fibre into the core of their approach to design. So why was Crutchley’s win so pivotal in the space of emerging talent? By bringing the focus right down to the fibre, Crutchley revealed a new sensibility of design, and one in which consumers are crying out for. “I think it is impossible to work as a smaller brand in today’s environment without transparency and sustainability being at the foremost of what you are doing,” offered Edward. “Sustainability means something different to everyone you ask. To me it is how we produce new things whilst causing the least harm possible. One of Merino wool’s strongest assets is its sustainability and how it can be used to contribute to a circular economy. With this in mind it would have been a very strange decision to have not made transparency the main element of my submission. Wool is flexible. It’s adaptable. There are not as many limitations as other natural fibres. It can stretch, insulate, has a natural water repellency. Why would you not use a fibre that has so much to offer.” It is with this focus on the fibre, that won Edward Crutchley an award that has also been placed in the hands of fashion icons Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent. The focus on the eco-narrative of fashion design runs throughout the industry and its importance is only growing. Stylist Kate Young and director and photographer Fabien Montique are both members of the Advisory Committee for the 2020 International Woolmark Prize. Sharing their points of view, both Young and Montique believe in the power of a brave new approach to design. “An eco-narrative helps a brand,” explains Young. “Because people care more and
more about this and fashion is a wasteful industry. I think it’s exciting that brands are producing core items again and again every season - those pieces are what bring customers back and they point to longevity in styles.” Fabien Montique adds: “The eco narrative is a great narrative, once a brand is committed for the long term; however, there needs to be a strategy that connects with the consumer on multiple levels. As the consumer continues to be educated, I hope that the eco narrative becomes the norm for brands. Brands can change the way fashion is consumed by further developing transparency with their supply chains, the process from start to finish. This transparency allows for more accountability and trustworthiness.” Michael and Nicole Colovos, the New York duo behind Colovos, the winner of the Womenswear category of the 2019 International Woolmark Prize, understand the desire for considered design. “This is an incredible moment in time,” explain the duo who attribute a more sustainable future
to the uptake of innovation in the industry. “We have innovations that are in tune with the environmental and sociological problems our planet is facing. We have the ability to produce fabrics with little to no impact on our environment. With wool we can determine what crops to plant in different regions that are suited to different climates, that are good for the environment, require less irrigation and are good for the sheep. The sheep in turn help to cultivate the farm. We can grow cotton with 95% less water than previously possible without harmful pesticides. Mills can recycle post-production waste. In an ideal world, we will maximize naturally renewable resources in a way that benefits our planet, from how we farm to how we produce and ultimately how we consume. We can create a zero-waste cradle to cradle system.” But it is not just industry who play a role in reimagining the future. Consumers also play an important role and in the words of Michael and Nicole: “They can make choices about where to spend their money. The more we know about where and how products are made the more equipped we are to make conscious choices about what companies we want to support.” With a collection focused on an innovative wool denim Colovos proved that innovation can recreate a staple and offer consumers an alternative. “We chose to work with wool that had the spirit of denim. We weren’t looking for wool that literally felt like denim, rather we were looking for fabrics that could be worn in the same way that denim is or had been inspired by the colour and textural look of denim. Like traditional denim, these garments are meant to be worn every day, on any occasion and are versatile. We chose indigo for colour and used contrast topstitching so people will
“Wool is flexible. It’s adaptable.” – Edward Crutchley
identify with it in the same way as denim.” Referencing the past to make sense of the future is a skill both Colovos and Edward Crutchley express with conviction and it is this ability to use the qualities of tradition with the innovations of the future that has earnt them their place amongst the past icons of the International Woolmark Prize. Over the years, the prize has had a privileged vantage point on the new challenges in fashion, promoting what the new generation has to offer. For two editions now, the International Woolmark Prize has included an award dedicated to the brands that are pushing the limits of experimentation with pure Merino wool. Dyne won the first Innovation Award in 2018. Edward Crutchley won the second iteration of the Innovation Award in the last edition. The third edition of the prize dedicated to experimentation with Merino wool will be awarded in early 2020. A prestigious Advisory Council – made up of industry professionals and tastemakers – has the difficult task of choosing these finalists from more than 300 candidates from all across the world including countries like Peru, Ecuador, Hungary, and Armenia. The number of creatives taking part grows each year and as the focus on fibre becomes more pressing in the wider fashion community, the prize offers designers an insight and an edge with the fibre that has proved a defining success for generations of influential designers. Wool, an ancient fibre, that is 100% natural, renewable, and bio-degradable offers designers an extraordinary opportunity to reference the past and embrace the future of innovation as the world’s best emerging design talents push the boundaries of the fibre through the International Woolmark Prize.
“We can create a zero-waste cradle to cradle system.” – Colovos