Award-winning model and fashion commentator Alexa Chung has joined the judging panel for the 2013/14 International Woolmark Prize (IWP) global final that is being held on today.

Alexa Chung will sit alongside industry heavyweights at Milan's La Triennale Museum to decide which of the five emerging labels will be crowned the winner of this international award.

“I'm thrilled to be a part of the International Woolmark Prize event in Milan and honoured to sit alongside some of the most well respected names in the industry,” commented Alexa Chung. “I'm always excited to see emerging designers’ progress in the industry so I'm pleased to be a part of something with such historical significance that offers fantastic support to new talent.”

Alexa Chung

Alexa Chung is an award-winning presenter, model and writer. She is Contributing Editor to British Vogue and Young Style Ambassador for the British Fashion Council.

Alexa won Style Icon for the third year running at the British Fashion Awards in 2013. She has also appeared on the covers of British Vogue, Harper's BAZAAR and ELLE. International covers include L'Officiel, Jalouse, WWD, AUS Harper's BAZAAR, Vogue Korea and Teen Vogue.

September 2013 saw the launch of Alexa's debut book It published by Penguin, which gives readers an insight into her fashion influences and style tips.

Final round

Joining Alexa Chung on the judging panel will be Frida Giannini, Franca Sozzani, Tim Blanks, Colette Garnsey, Angelica Cheung and representatives from the global IWP retail partners, who will provide their insight and perspective on the relevance of the finalists at a commercial level.

After a search, reaching across 20 countries and involving over 48 designers, five talents have reached the final round: ffiXXed (Asia), Christopher Esber (Australia), Sibling (Europe), Rahul Mishra (India and Middle East) and Altuzarra (USA). Each label will present a six-piece capsule collection made from a minimum of 80% Merino wool during a runway show held during Milan Fashion Week.

Story of success

Alongside prestigious recognition, the winner of the 2013/14 prize will receive a financial contribution of AU$100,000 and the opportunity to be stocked in the most important retailers around the globe, including Harvey Nichols, Saks Fifth Avenue, 10 Corso Como, Joyce, David Jones, Colette and mytheresa.com.

Christian Wijnants, the winner of the 2012/13 International Woolmark Prize, launched his knitwear capsule collection at a VIP event at the London’s  Harvey Nichols in September last year.

According to Harvey Nichols’s fashion director Paula Reed, winning the International Woolmark Prize in February 2013 made Wijnants one of the world’s designers ‘to look out for’.

 Read the full article about Wijnants’ collection on Knitting Industry website

www.woolmark.com