The jury for the International Woolmark Prize delivered its verdict this Sunday. Christian Wijnants, a Belgian designer from Antwerp, was crowned winner of the Europe category in the first round of the competition, which recognizes the best designs in merino wool.

Christian Wijnants, winner of the Europe category of the International Woolmark Prize, for his knitwear shown on the right © International Woolmark Prize

Christian Wijnants was selected from 17 designers from all over Europe. The jury, which included amongst others Alber Elbaz, creative director of Lanvin, Alexandra Schulman, editor in chief of British Vogue, and her German counterpart Christiane Arp, was won over by the construction and technique used by the young Belgian designer in his knitwear creations.

A similar first stage in the competition has already taken place in China, where designer Ban Xiao Xue Wins was victorious, and will soon be taking place in Australia, India and the US. The winners will then compete against each other at the grand final in February 2013.

Each winner is awarded financial support from the Australian Woolmark Company in order to develop his or her collection. The overall winner will receive a further 100,000 dollars to organize a fashion show, and his or her collection will also be distributed by stores such as Harvey Nichols in the UK, Joyce in China, Eickhoff Koenigsallee in Germany, Bergdorf Goodman in the US, and David Jones in Australia.