Representing a long term commitment to quality, featured on over 2 billion garments and with a history spanning 45 years, the Woolmark logo is considered to be one of the most memorable brands ever created. Since it was designed in 1964 by Italian graphic designer Francesco Saroglia, the Woolmark has become, and remains, the only independent global fibre endorsement program in the world.

Owned by Australian wool Innovation, the Woolmark was initially launched in Britain, the US, Japan, Germany, Holland and Belgium, the traditional retailing market for wool, before a global roll-out. The investment in marketing of wool using the Woolmark in the 60s through to the 80s was extensive. However, despite the enormous success of the logo during this time, in more recent history, the Woolmark experienced a marked decline. Due to fractured ownership and de-centralized licensing, the Woolmark slowly changed from a brand which once evoked perceptions of excellence, innovation and distinction into a confused, poorly co-ordinated application, which had lost its illustrious roots.

By 2006, the Australian wool industry’s investment into the Woolmark as a brand had long ceased. A single survey conducted that year unexpectedly found that the Woolmark still ranked among the most valuable brands in the world. A remarkable 95% of global respondents still recognised the infamous Woolmark logo despite the brand not actively being marketed to consumers for over two decades.

In 2008, Australian Wool Innovation made the decision to buy the rights to the Woolmark. Following a period of consolidation and evaluation, the historic Woolmark was officially revived through a global fibre education campaign to promote Australian wool. The success of this campaign, along with international partnerships with wool ambassadors such as Margherita Missoni helped make the Australian wool industry profitable for the first time in over 20 years.

Robert Langtry, Australian Wool Innovation’s Global Marketing Officer explained, ‘Australian Wool Innovation saw the opportunity and the value which still remained in The Woolmark. The decision to use the Woolmark as the brand banner to educate our international supply chain and consumers about the benefits of Australian wool has been was one of the decisive factors in the fight for the Australian wool industry.”

The announcement of the 2012 International Woolmark Prize is another mechanism to keep wool top-of-mind in fashion. In keeping with a long tradition of supporting individual excellence in design, the International Woolmark Prize aims to highlight the beauty of the Merino wool fibre at the hands of the world’s finest designers. Currently Australian wool accounts for more than 90% of the world’s luxury wool fibre.

‘The Australian wool industry has a rich history of supporting emerging talent in fashion. Australian Wool Innovation and The Woolmark Company, globally, have continued this tradition by creating innovative design support programs. This hindsight, paired with Woolmark’s global network and reach, has allowed us to undertake a project of this scale to educate and connect with fashion’s future leaders and to highlight outstanding design in Merino wool,’ Robert Langtry continued.

Five regional awards will be held in Australia, China, India, Europe and the US. The winner from each region will receive $50,000 as a contribution towards their next collection, as well as an invitation to participate in the international final.

The following designers have been nominated from Australia;

• Christopher Esbar
• Dion Lee
• Ellery
• Carl Kapp
• Romance Was Born
• Magdalena Valeska
• Song for the Mute

The winner of the international final will receive a further $100,000 to assist in underwriting their next fashion show. Importantly, the international winner will have their collection commercialised through a series of international retailers associated with the project including Harvey Nichols in London and Joyce in China.

The Australian wool industry has supported many designer programs dating back to the illustrious International Wool Secretariat (IWS) design award of the 1950s which founded two relatively unknown designers of the time in Paris, Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld, through to the most recent incarnations by AWI such as the Protégé Program in 2007 which united some of the world’s most established designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Donatella Versace with young protégés of their choice. Most recently, the Woolmark Prize, which revived the original IWS awards, was held in Paris in 2008.