After the success of last year’s Wool Runway, a design challenge for university students, The Woolmark Company has successfully completed the second edition on another high note. Envisioned as a celebration of tertiary fashion designers, the competition also educated young designers on working with Merino wool.
India’s leading fashion universities, NIFT (Mumbai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Shillong, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Patna and Kolkata), NID (Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar) and Pearl Academy (Mumbai, Delhi- Noida, Naraina and Jaipur) took part in this program, educating more than 700 students on the benefits and versatility Merino wool. Eighty-four students then participated in the competition.
A panel of industry influencers judged the finals designs, with judges including Womenswear Designers Rahul Mishra and Nachiket Barve; Menswear Designer, Dhruv Kapoor; Editor of Grazia India, Mehernaaz Dhondy; Head Marketing- Ermenegildo Zegna, Diesel & Bally, Surabhi Negi; and The Woolmark Company Country Manager India, Arti Gudal. All the designs were evaluated against strict criteria that included the use of at least 80 per cent wool per outfit, garment construction, overall presentation and more. The participants also received feedback and mentorship from the judges which will help nurture their career.
Talking about the same, award-winning designer Rahul Mishra said, “I have always been honored to associate with The Woolmark Company as they have been an essential part of my journey as a designer. Wool Runway has given me a chance to share my learning and experience in working with the intricacies of Merino wool. The fibre itself is absolutely versatile and the different dimensions that the students have added to it with their techniques are great to see. It is a great initiative and I have thoroughly enjoyed judging the wonderful talent and understanding their inspiration and the thought process behind their designs.”
Displaying an eclectic mix of the finalists’ designs as live installations, participants presented outfits that were an exploration of the versatile nature of Merino wool with their signature aesthetics. After a challenging round of judging and evaluation, Ravi Manil (Wool Runway winner), Abhinav Tyagi ( 2nd Runner-Up) and Saachi Khattar & Nikita Chhajer (3rd Runner-Up) were announced the winners of the competition and were awarded prize money amounting to INR 1,00,000, INR 75,000 and INR 50,000 respectively. The awards were presented by The Woolmark Company’s ambassador Shravan Reddy and jury members.
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