Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent and, now, Christian Wijnants. The Belgian Wijnants joined the ranks of those two legendary designers by winning the International Woolmark Prize here over the weekend. The designer said he challenged himself to create something new and fresh using only one yarn, hand-knitting it so “you get to really feel the material.”
His architectural, tie-dyed knits received rapturous applause at the awards presentation Saturday night during London Fashion Week.
Wijnants explained that the Japanese shibori tie-dye technique he employed proved extremely laborious as one generally uses very hot temperatures. “I like the idea of taking a risk,” he said. “We didn’t quite know what to expect, so it was very exciting.”
The ceremony was held at London’s glamorous new ME hotel, and the competition’s five other finalists — Australian Dion Lee, American Sophie Theallet, Ban Xiao Xue from China, Pankaj and Nidhi from India, and Takeshi Kitazawa and Emiko Sato from Japan — also showed their specially designed collections before a panel made up of Diane von Furstenberg, Donatella Versace, Franca Sozzani, Tim Blanks and Victoria Beckham.
Wijnants received 100,000 Australian dollars, or $105,000, and his winning collection will be carried next fall in top retailers around the world, including Bergdorf Goodman in the U.S., Harvey Nichols in the U.K., 10 Corso Como in Italy, Joyce in China, Eickoff in Germany and David Jones in Australia.
The global fashion competition recognizes creativity in merino wool. It aims to develop the next generation of fashion talent and to highlight wool’s eco credentials. – wwd