Wool's wow factor

Since 2000, Loro Piana has presented the Challenge Cup, an award given to a wool producer who can produce the finest microns of Merino wool. This year's winner produced a 10.6 micron bale. A micron is 1/1000 mm and the unit of measure for fiber diameter. Average wool measures 22-25 microns.

Championing and highlighting the beauty and benefits of wool worldwide, is the Woolmark Company, which was established in 1936 as the official association of Australian commercial sheep farmers and wool growers.

The International Wool Prize is one of the main initiatives of Woolmark, it is an annual fashion design competition that has earned a reputation for identifying the world's next outstanding designers.

The competition is a vehicle that builds the wool industry's relationship with ready-to-wear designers of the future by encouraging them to incorporate wool in their collections.

It was at the 1954 competition that the IWP sealed its reputation as 'an award for the next generation' of fashion innovators. That year, two young, unknown women's wear designers Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent accepted their prizes.

Lagerfeld, then 21, won in the coat category, while Saint Laurent, a mere 18 years old, won for dress design. Since then, many IWP winners and finalists have become industry success stories and even household names, such as Donna Karan and Giorgio Armani.

Judges have always been style heavyweights drawn from various sectors of the fashion business - Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Balmain, retail and editorial sister-duo Carla and Franca Sozzani, Victoria Beckham and Donatella Versace.

Today the IWP is a competition among designers from five major regions with the final winner taking home A$100,000 ($95,210) and the chance to have designs sold at major international retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman in the US, Harvey Nichols in UK, Joyce in China and David Jones in Australia.

In recent years, IWP has extended to the Middle East and India and now includes China and South Korea. Last year's IWP finals in London had two entries from Asia - Ban Xiaoxue from Chinese mainland and Dressedundressed from Japan. This year's competition has two contestants from Hong Kong's trend defying labels ffiXXed and Plotz, as well as three mainland brands Chuyan, Yun Linn and Sankuanz.

Regional judging for Asia will be held in Hong Kong this July. Aside from the Chinese contenders, there are two from Japan Matohu and Motonari Ono, and three from South Korea Alani, Post December and Tache.

Today's IWP is experiencing a rebirth not seen for 60 years. It now crosses borders and cultures in search of the world's most talented emerging designers who will take this versatile natural fiber beyond modernity.

Related: What's behind woolmark