The 2015-16 Menswear International Woolmark Prize has been awarded to India’s Suket Dhir for his contemporary designs judged in Florence, Italy, during Pitti Uomo on January 13.
The six finalists, whittled down from 70 nominees, were Munsoo Kwon (Asia), Patrick Johnson (Australia), Agi & Sam (British Isles), Jonathan Christopher (Europe), Suket Dhir (India, Pakistan and Middle East) and Siki Im (USA).
The menswear finalist Suket Dhir will receive $100,000 to support his business, as well as the sale of his collection to stores and boutiques, such as MatchesFashion.com, David Jones, Corso Como (Milan) and Isetan Mitsukoshi (Japan).
The competition was judged by a selection of international industry figures, such as: Desginer Haider Ackermann; Imran Amed, founder and editor-in-chief, The Business of Fashion; Suzy Menkes, International editor,Vogue; Nick Sullivan, fashion director, Esquire; Masafumi Suzuki, editor-in-chief, GQ Japan; Linda Loppa, director of strategy and vision, Polimoda; Raffaello Napoleone, chief executive, Pitti Uomo and Stuart McCullough, managing director, The Woolmark Company.
Alongside the judges were representatives from IWP’s retail partners, such as David Jones and Saks Fifth Avenue New York.
Mr Dhir said he founded his label Suketdhir back in 2010, where he trained at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in New Delhi.
“The inspiration behind the collection was by my son who reminded me of my own childhood with my grandfather – bringing back memories of visits to mango orchards in the middle of the mustard fields where we spent time when I was a boy,” Mr Dhir said.
“The collection is based on this concept of parrots, mango trees, blue sky's and water streams.
“Yellow from the mustard fields and mango and the wine coloured saplings of the young mango leaves.”
He said his grandfather was his muse, as he had a very easy style with loose pants and simple shirts.
“It was quite a 40's style that I tried to emulate, with 100 per cent Merino wool, 70pc handwoven,” he said.
“The silk linings were hand block printed.”
Sourcing his wool from Raymond in India and woven in Pochamballi and Murshidabad, Mr Dhir said now the competition is complete he will produce his collection and expand upon it with another 15 pieces.
“I will start working on retailing globally through the IWP Retail Partner Network and I plan to roll out locally in India and work with TWC on education about the benefits of wool in summer for the Indian market,” he said.
“Then, further on down the track, building our own factories.”
Judge Stuart McCullough said the winner of the competition is subjected to a complex range of interviews and presentation before the judges establish a winner.
“There is a process of regional finals then the international final for the competition,” Mr McCullough said.
“It's judge by an extremely high profile group of judges that give their time.”
He said the competition is prominent because menswear is not often profiled on the stage and subsequently we don’t get to see much design or fabric innovation.
Australian contestant Patrick Johnson said he grew up on a Merino property in South Australia and upon finishing school was given the opportunity to work as a tailor in the West End in London.
“This really was a huge stroke of luck, I worked and travelled with him for seven years, listening, asking lots of annoying questions, observing – really learning how it all worked,” Mr Johnson said.
“Then in 2008, I returned to Australia and started out on my own.
“I started by driving the weekly 3000 kilometre journey from Sydney to Melbourne to Adelaide and back again, stopping anywhere where my clients would see me along the way.”
He said today he now has a team of tailors working across his showrooms in Sydney, Melbourne and New York.
“For this collection I wanted to use the best and most progressive Merino cloth, coupled with the best construction techniques, to create a wardrobe of six trans-seasonal looks that are simple, usable, comfortable, but most importantly beautiful,” he said.
“Along with tailoring, colour is an important part of my designs.”
He said all of the wool used came originally from Australia, (90 per cent) and New Zealand (10pc), via multiple Italian weavers based in the Biella region.
“My team and I work with Merino wool every day, it’s our fibre of choice,” he said.
“Merino has many great features, but I love it mostly for its versatility, because I can use it to make a heavy winter 600 gram coat or a 180 gram crease resistant summer suit, and everything in between.”
Mr Johnson said he also works with a handful of Asian weavers who are developing increasingly sophisticated technological finishes and treatments to wool.
“From a construction point of view it is a pleasure to work with – it’s so malleable,” Mr Johnson said.
“It works well blended or on its own, and it can be constantly developed and evolved.
“When grown correctly it is also highly sustainable, so I believe it has an integral and perennial place in the fashion industry.”