Dubai-based menswear designer Varoin Marwah has been picked to represent the UAE in the regional rounds of the prestigious Woolmark Prize, one of the most sought after fashion awards in the world. Marwah will compete with other menswear designers from India and Pakistan at an event to be held in July. Dubai will play host for the second time. The regional winners will then compete for the international prize of Dh272,224 each for menswear and womenswear.
“International Woolmark Prize is the highest honour any fashion designer can dream of receiving in one’s career. It’s as huge as the Oscars or the Olympics in the world of fashion and I am truly honoured to be able to represent UAE, the country that’s given me so much more and beyond,” Marwah told Gulf News tabloid! following the announcement.
In his category, the designer is up against Indian labels Antar-Agni, Dhruv Kapoor and Theorem, and Pakistan’s Ziggi Menswear. The womenswear category includes Indian labels Bodice, Pero and Hemang Agrawal, as well as Matar from Bahrain; Khadija Rahman and Zonia Anwar from Pakistan; and Nour Najem and Timi Hayek from Lebanon.
Two winners from the Middle East-India-Pakistan region -- one each for menswear and womenswear -- will each receive a Dh136,112 cash prize and will be required to create a six-piece collection made out of merino wool. The collections will be presented to an international panel of judges where they will compete with winners from five other regions: Asia, Australia, British Isles, Europe and USA.
Past jury members at the international competition have included Victoria Beckham, Style.com editor-at-large Tim Blanks and former Gucci creative director Frida Giannini.
The menswear international winner will be announced during Pitti Uomo in Florence in January 2018 and the womenswear in New York in February 2018. The global winners in both categories will then receive a further Dh272,224 and have their collections sold with international retailers the UK, the US, China and Italy and Australia.
Established in 1953, past winners of the IWP include icons such as Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld.
