Saul Nash and MMUSOMAXWELL win this year's Woolmark Award.

IMAGE: LILLIE EIGER / COURTESY OF THE WOOLMARK COMPANY

“It’s such a moment of decompression for me, as I have been working towards this award for a very long time. I am incredibly grateful to Woolmark for recognising and spotlighting my work, and helping me understand how to create an activewear garment from 100% pure wool” expressed Saul Nash right before he won the Woolmark Company Prize for 2022.

The iconic prize, created by the Australian wool company in 1936, has helped historical designers such as Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld reach immense growth and development, going forward to become one of the most influential designers in fashion history. Nowadays, the prize fund of 200,000 AUD and 100,000 AUD for the Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation, helps designers expand and skyrocket their business into a different level of success.

This year’s 7 finalists - Ahluwalia, Peter Do, Rui Zhou, Saul Nash, EGONlab., MMUSOMAXWELL, and Jordan Dalah, all expressed the importance of better fabric processes in fashion, and choosing natural fibres and materials that slow down the lifecycle of garments.

The second award, the Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation, was awarded to the South African duo Maxwell Boko and Mmuso Potsane from the brand MMUSOMAXWELL, who revealed how this project has helped them connect and support very small local craftsmen communities in South Africa, whose extensive history with Merino wool has helped them develop a next level of artisanal craftsmanship in their garments. In their acceptance speech, they expressed “I always wanted to be a musician, so this for me is our Best New Artist Grammy!”

This year’s judging panel consisted of legendary industry professionals such as Supermodel Naomi Campbell, Alaïa’s Creative Director Pieter Mulier, BOF’s Editor-at-Large Tim Blanks, who all expressed the spectacular and diverse talent of all finalists. “Everyone did a great job and could have been a winner,” said Riccardo Tisci. “But what Saul did, coming from a ballet background to replace lycra with wool was really incredible.”