Erupting from the flurry of applause like a man on a mission, Duran Lantink was announced this evening as this year’s International Woolmark Prize winner. Presented in a ceremony in Milan, the Amsterdam-based 37-year-old Dutch designer – whose boundary-breaking approach to upcycling has been shaking up the fashion arena – scooped up a whopping AU$300,000 (£158,000) cash prize. And that’s not all. The award also comes with the golden ticket: a spot in some of the world’s most esteemed retailers via the International Woolmark Prize Retailer Network.

Hailing from The Hague, Lantink is no stranger to the avant-garde. His work has been making waves for years – remember those viral “split” trousers made from reassembled designer pieces? Of course, you do. He’s a mastermind of hybrid fashion, fusing together deadstock, pre-loved pieces and cutting-edge textiles to create something entirely new. His latest obsession? Inflated garments – think bubble skirts, tops and dresses, puffed up to surreal, cloud-like proportions. A little bit life jacket, a little bit futuristic high fashion.

Technology plays a pivotal role in Lantink’s vision. His SS21 digital fashion show for example – filmed and attended solely by drones – earned critical praise for its striking commentary on access and excess in the fashion industry. Since then, he has shown five collections at Paris Fashion Week, most recently his AW25 show Duranimal, where he continued pushing the boundaries of sustainability and spectacle.

Unveiled in a show-stopping Paris Fashion Week spectacle last month, Duranimal was pure fashion fever dream. Zebra prints clashed with camo, neon florals fought plaid – chaotic, yet considered. But it wasn’t just the prints that made it one of the most talked about shows of the season. One male model bounced down the runway in a latex top with very realistic breasts, while another look flipped the script with a female model in a sculpted, muscle-defined male torso. Gender? Fluid. Boundaries? Gone.

It’s this fearless, take-no-prisoners attitude that has cemented Lantink as one of fashion’s most exciting disruptors. With accolades including the 2023 ANDAM Special Prize and the 2024 Karl Lagerfeld Prize, his designs have also been acquired by institutions like The Met Costume Institute and the V&A Museum. And now, with the Woolmark Prize under his belt, the world is officially his playground.

Ahead of the ceremony, Lantink presented a bold, wool-centric collection that merged regenerative design, heritage craftsmanship and contemporary innovation. Its playful interrogation of “bad taste”, where human and animalistic motifs collided, was a winning point for the judges, who also observed his meticulous approach to historical Dutch knitting techniques. Each piece blended the ordinary with the extraordinary, with 3D-reconstructed knitwear and recycled army sweaters woven into intricate check patterns, pushing sustainability and craftsmanship to new heights.

Meticulously hand-knitted by a team of 12 Dutch artisans, the collection revived time-honored techniques through a collaborative, community-driven process. Lantink’s work didn’t just showcase technical brilliance – it redefined how tradition and innovation can coexist in fashion.

When it comes to the prize money, continuing this ethos of sustainability and craftsmanship is Lantink’s biggest priority. The designer plans to invest in further research and development of recycled textiles, expanding his community of artisans and scaling his regenerative design process to create even more innovative, low-impact fashion.

The other seven prize finalists included Irish eveningwear label Standing Ground, Belgium-based Meryll Rogge and Ester Manas, New York’s Luar and Diotima, Parisian label LGN Louis Gabriel Nouchi and Italy-based Act N°1. All finalists are offered the opportunity to be stocked at some of the world’s leading stores thanks to the International Woolmark Prize Retailer Network.

In addition, Pieter Mulier was presented with the Woolmark Company’s inaugural Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation, recognising his boundary-pushing wool work at Alaïa. The Karl Lagerfeld Prize, usually reserved for the Woolmark finalists, was opened up to the broader fashion industry this year with the breadth to be awarded to any brand or individual within the fashion industry who the judges felt pushed the boundaries of Merino wool innovation.

Both prizes were chosen by an esteemed judging panel that included colossal industry hitters like Versace’s Donatella Versace, former Dazed editor-in-chief IB Kamara (who is also this year’s IWP2025 guest artistic director), fashion architect Law Roach, Zegna’s Alessandro Sartori, Business of Fashion’s Tim Blanks, DJ, producer and artist Honey Dijon, N°21’s Alessandro Dell’Acqua and educator, advocate and founder of Tilting the Lens Sinéad Burke amongst other industry leaders.

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