Versatile, practical and ever fashionable, wool is in many respects a miracle fabric. Kitty Go reports how the worlds top designers got their start working with one of the worlds oldest materials.

Wool may be one of the oldest textiles in the world but it has also proven to be one of the most resilient to changing fashions and adaptable to innovative fabric technology. The oldest wool fabric was found in Denmark and dates back to 1500 BC. Wool is commonly used in clothing for fall and winter.

However, unknown to many, it is versatile enough to insulate against both heat and cold as demonstrated by the Tuareg people living in the Sahara desert. They wear a cape during the day to shield themselves against heat and the same cape at night to keep warm.

Throughout history, wool has figured prominently in daily life, either in the form of garments, or home furnishings such as blankets and rugs.

Wool has also been at the center of several turning points in fashion history. In 1916, designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel adapted the wool jersey, then used as men's underwear, and created the comfortable and chic cardigans she became known for; Christian Dior fashioned his revolutionary and extravagant "New Look" in 1947 with yards and yards of wool.

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.

Contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 06/23/2013 page13)