IWTO - World Wool Award

Juan Casanovas, J.D. Casanovas, S.A. Jury Chairman
	There were a large number of projects. The quality of them being of high level, which made it very difficult to select a winner in each category. My impression is that all participants should have the opportunity to reach and to present their works to a larger audience , and IWTO, through this initiative, is the ideal means for that. I hope that the present edition of the Wool World Awards will foster the opportunities that are underlying in each of the projects. In this way companies can meet participants in order to further develop the works started here. It was a hard working day, but very enjoyable due to the high quality of the projects.
Georg Steffens, The Woolmark Company It was a pleasure to participate as a jury member on the World Wool Award Edition 2006. Again we could see and judge very good elaborations in the three categories. For me as an "old" wool friend and expert it is always interesting and nice to see how young talents re-interpret the wool for today's lifestyle. The World Wool Award is an excellent platform for textile students around the globe to show and communicate how they see the most natural fibre in the world - WOOL.
	Ilona Schulz, TextilWirtschaft The second World Wool Award Jury Meeting showed impressive creativity of young students at international level. The projects that were delivered for the category Fashion & Design have been very intensively discussed by the Jury Members, as many of the entries were on a highly professional level. Personally I did not manage to make my choice spontaneously and quickly, but I am sure that finally we have made the right decision. It is regrettable that this time there were not so many impressive entries in the categories Marketing & Promotion as well as in Concept & Innovation. Therefore it would be desirable that also companies together with their employees and projects participate in this competition in the future. I am already looking forward to the next edition of World Wool Award.
Olivier Lapidus, Couturier It was such a pleasure to participate at the WWA: first and foremost, the work from the participants was top class. On the other hand it reminded me of the Woolmark contest I won a long time ago and this contest was the beginning of my career as a designer. Therefore I imagine how important this moment can be for those who won today's contest, in today's mood of deep change, among the complexity of wool evolution and new marketing... As a jury member, I was impressed to realize how the level of know-how was high among the créations we have seen. Of course it was not easy to select the "only best" from all the propositions we had among the projects a few fellows were a little bit too far from the wool universe... but even though, the quality stood there, creativity was a key point for everybody. I hope that this contest will help to built a new statement for wool evolution in the next future. Not only for the manufacturers but also for the consumer wellness which is the key point of this award
	Dr. Ulla Ertelt, HML – Fashion Marketing Exceptionally creative and original work was presented in the category "Fashion and Design" this year. It made the jury's task as much interesting as difficult. The detail and amount of effort put into each piece was very rewarding to see. Unfortunately the categories "Marketing" and "Concept" were not as convincing. Working within the international jury was highly constructive and satisfying decisions were made. This positive atmosphere was greatly influenced by the professional organisation before and during conference.
*Olivier Segard, Segard Masurel S.A.* As traders and early stage processors we are quite far away from the apparel design world. To be a member of the WWA was a great opportunity for me to share ideas and the passion of wool with experienced researchers, weavers, marketers and designers. I was impressed by the great work of the participants. I wish them all the best for the future and hope they keep WOOL in mind for ever.
	Prof. Jutta Wiedemann, Hochschule Niederrhein The World Wool Award Jury Meeting had been surprising in different ways: the creativity of so many young designers coming from all over the world, and their love, they've put into their products. Sometimes they almost forgot to present themselves in an equivalent manner. Also impressive was the constructive way of the jury members in our discussion about the winner and the wool.
Guido Mantura, Lapidus
	Daniela Zimmermann, Designer This year, in comparison to last year, it seems that the level of the Design Section has increased a lot, which made me very happy. Although there were less projects sent in, but therefore the quality was much higher. This was a real challenge for the jury members and a inspiring and motivating discussion evolved, not only about the projects but also about wool and the textile business in general. It was a pleasure for me to be in the jury again and to meet interesting people from the textile world. I hope to participate next year again!