Richard Malone and Emily Bode win 2020 Woolmark Prize

"What impressed me the most about the overall winner today is the organic approach to the number one issue in fashion right now: sustainability," said Jones. "These awards are so important to emerging designers because nowadays is impossible to get anywhere without the support from a larger corporation."

"What I'm loving this year is the use of wool mixed with sustainability,” said Enninful OBE. "The Woolmark Prize for me is a sign of excellence; it puts designers on an international level."

Malone created a collection inspired by his upbringing in Wexford to create considered, functional and beautifully made garments that minimise harm to our environment and works towards creating a circular, sustainable fashion system.

Eliminating traditional chemicals to provide a natural, less intensive method of dyeing, the Irish designer worked with a society of incredibly skilled weavers in Tamil Nadu, India, using completely organic and plant-based dyes as well as more recent innovations using Merino wool and other conscious fibres.

“Winning the Woolmark Prize is completely unexpected,” said Malone after the show. “It means we can continue working with this supply chain and share our learning with other brands and designers. It also opens up the dialogue of fashion so more people can be part of it. Thank you to Australia’s woolgrowers for growing this incredible fibre."

Each finalist created a sustainability roadmap and presented traceable collections using technology from platform partner Provenance. By focusing on transparency and sharing key product information, each designer brings the supply chain to the shopper in a way that’s secure, trustworthy and accessible.

"The International Woolmark Prize allowed me to work with a community of weavers in southern India," says Malone. "Collectively, we are working to sustain these communities and prevent the craft and tradition that extends generations from being lost, as it was in my hometown of Wexford.

Bode was praised for outstanding creativity and innovation, the same characteristics which led to Lagerfeld’s award-winning and history-making success back in the 1954 awards. The award was presented to Bode by Carine Roitfeld, the founder and editor-in-chief of CR Fashion Book.

"Bode’s story of working with old pieces and transforming them took me back to my childhood," said Roitfeld. "When I was young there was no fashion like there is today so I would go to the flea market and my mother and I would sew patches onto clothes to make them new. Bode’s collection reminds me of this time and I like that."

Mixing deadstock fabrics found in abandoned factories, Bode beautifully marries the old with new to bring modern interpretations to traditions of the past. For the International Woolmark Prize, Bode featured overcoats and suits composed of reclaimed and remade equine show blankets, traceable and certified Merino wool jacquard knits inspired by stitch samples from a retired 1930s knitting factory, and housecoats built from hundreds of individually crocheted Merino wool fleurettes.

"I’m really excited that this is the first Karl Lagerfeld Innovation Award,” said Bode. “He’s been such an idol and inspiration for me. I’m also really excited to build on all the relationships I have made during my Woolmark Prize journey."

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (PC)