The WoolOn Creative Fashion Event committee announced its panel of industry experts who will evaluate entries at this year’s competition.
As preparations for next month’s catwalk shows at the Alexandra Bowling Club enter their final stages, a four-member judging panel has been tasked with considering designer entries across the nine designer categories and 10 awards.
The entries span a range of forms, from traditional handcraft and avant-garde wearable art to a new Commercial Viability Award category and the coveted Supreme Winner Award, a statement from the event committee said.
Returning once again to the WoolOn judging panel is one of New Zealand’s foremost fashion luminaries, Liz Mitchell MNZM. Based in Auckland, Mitchell is an ardent champion of New Zealand wool and an icon of bespoke tailoring. Her masterful designs have graced international red carpets, including the Academy Awards, and have been chosen by the nation’s most prominent leaders, most recently Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro and her predecessor Dame Patsy Reddy. Mitchell views WoolOn as a vital platform for sustainable progress.
Bringing a raw, architectural, and fiercely independent lens to the panel is Kingston-based designer and artist Jane Sutherland. Operating from her remote studio at the southern tip of Lake Wakatipu, Sutherland has earned national acclaim for her signature fusion of heavy-gauge metalwork and fine textiles.
Almost entirely self-taught, her work oscillates between high fashion and structural object design, exploring uncommon and iconoclastic expressions with an industrial architectural focus. Sutherland’s discerning eye will challenge designers to push the conventional boundaries of wool structure and form.
"Kingston, a town of just 400 people, allows the mind to wander and the pencil to sketch freely".
Raised on historic Bendigo Station, Perriam’s personal and commercial connection to the local landscape infuses her work with rich narrative. She is a lifelong devotee of wool, blending traditional heritage techniques with elevated modern style.
Perriam’s involvement directly underscores WoolOn’s mission of championing makers who choose wool as their primary artistic medium.
For 2026’s contest and in alignment with its focus on educational outreach, the WoolOn committee has appointed secondary school textiles teacher and young entrepreneur Lucy Girvan as a special additional judge.
As the founder of Eweburn Creek Knitwear, inspired by her family’s sheep and beef farm "Glenderry" in the Maniototo, Girvan’s involvement bridges the gap between rural production and contemporary design education.
"My passion for textiles began at a young age growing up on the farm and was further developed through studying Fashion Design at Otago Polytechnic," Girvan said.
"I love being able to connect farming and fashion by creating garments that tell the story of where they come from while celebrating the natural qualities of New Zealand wool."
Tickets for the WoolOn matinee and evening gala showcases are selling fast via Humanitix. Those interested in attending are urged to buy them well in advance of the highly anticipated event.
Meanwhile, the window for designer entries remains open until July 31. Designers and makers from all corners of New Zealand are encouraged to submit their wool creations and step into the national spotlight. — Allied Media
