Sibling wins European leg of International Woolmark Prize

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Jun 27, 2013

The jury in Milan named British brand Sibling the winner of the European leg of the International Woolmark prize. The brand’s designers Joe Bates, Sid Bryan and Cozette McCreery will go on to represent the Europe at the international stage of the competition, which will take place during Milan Fashion Week next February.

Sibling was selected from a pool of ten European brands. Amongst the other finalists were Pièce D’Anarchive from France, Gabriele Colangelo from Italy, Sara Coleman from Spain, Danish brand Norwegian Rain, Polish David Tomaszewski based in Berlin, Jan Van Essche from Beligum, Mattijs Van Bergen from Holland and Hana Zarubova from the Czech Republic.

The jury – which included Angela Missoni and Vogue Italia editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani – were seduced by Sibling’s technical capabilities and knitwear savior-faire. Longtime friends Bates, Bryan and McCreery collaborated on several projects with musicians, artists and fashion brands before launching Sibling, a knitwear line for men in 2008. “We are going to introduce denim and jersey to the line for the first time next season,” said Sid Bryan.

Three seasons ago, the brand launched its womenswear collection, which is presented at London Fashion Week. Specialised in knitwear, the design trio works closely with a hosiery mill in Scotland to fabricate their collections. ‘Practical’, ‘fun’ and ‘optimistic’ are three words used to characterise the brand. “We start with basic pieces and try to enhance them with details and colours that are unexpected,” said Cozette McCreery.