British-Guyanese menswear designer Saul Nash was awarded the 2022 Woolmark Prize, winning an AU$200,000 ($144,000) cash prize to put towards business development.

Meanwhile, South African womenswear label Mmusomaxwell received the Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation.

The prestigious competition seeks to spotlight the industry’s most exciting and innovative emerging designers. Former winners include Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent and Donna Karan.

This year’s two winners were announced at an event in London by a panel that included Edward Eninful, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, Dazed editor-in-chief Ib Kamara, The Business of Fashion’s editor-at-large Tim Blanks, Burberry creative director Riccardo Tisci, and writer and disability activist Sinéad Burke.

Each of the seven finalists — Ahluwalia, Egonlab, Jordan Dalah, Mmusomaxwell, Peter Do, RUI and Saul Nash — received a financial grant worth an undisclosed amount to fund the production of a six-piece collection made out of Merino wool.

All finalists will now enter the Woolmark Alumni Programme and will have their collections stocked in retailers worldwide.

Last year, Central Saint Martins graduate and knitwear specialist Matty Bovan won both the overall prize and the Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation.

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In London, Multicultural Start-Ups Shine

Ahluwalia, Labrum and Saul Nash’s collections — steeped in the Indian, West African and Caribbean heritage of their founders — stood out at the London fashion week in February.