Fleece to Fashion gala at Deeargee woolshed

Deeargee Pastoral Company near Uralla, NSW, lit up its iconic octagonally-shaped woolshed last month for the Fleece to Fashion Awards gala dinner and presentation, welcoming black-tie clad patrons through the gates and into the pens to witness a unique wool fashion parade featuring emerging designers.

Young designer Chelsea Mitchell being presented with the Supreme Award by AWI Chairman Jock Laurie and event host Catriona Rowntree, on stage at the Deeargee woolshed with models wearing her winning designs.

Based in the New England region of NSW, the Fleece to Fashion Awards is an annual competition that promotes the unique, versatile and sustainable qualities of Merino wool, while celebrating upcoming fashion designers from across Australia who embrace the fibre in their collections.

The Awards are run by Fleece to Fashion, an Armidale-based not for profit company that aims to educate and inspire the next generations of designers to continue to experiment and explore the many qualities Merino wool has to offer.

Located in the New England hills behind the township of Uralla, the Sutherland family’s Deeargee woolshed played host to this year’s Fleece to Fashion Awards gala dinner and presentation on the evening of 25 November, plus a celebratory preview of the designs the previous afternoon for a High Tea in the Woolshed event. Deeargee Pastoral Company is known for producing some of Australia’s finest wool and is home to a unique, octagonally-shaped woolshed built in 1872.

This year’s Fleece to Fashion Awards was hosted by wool lover Catriona Rowntree and was sponsored by AWI along with a raft of local businesses and woolgrowers.

There were eight categories in this year’s awards: Secondary School, Developing Designer (Tertiary), Special Occasion, Inspired Menswear, Wearable Art, Celebrating Global Cultures, Wool Re-imagined, and The Wedding Party. As the (welcome) rain pounded the historical Deeargee woolshed on the evening of the gala dinner, the vast array of spectacular designs hit the runway.

The Awards were judged by Australian fashion icon Akira Isogawa, fashion journalist and media personality Melissa Hoyer, and former designer for RM Williams and Country Road Jonathan Ward. As well as awards for each category, there were also special awards for Most Marketable Design, Innovation in Wool, Encouragement Awards (celebrating three young designers), a Wool Producers Pick, and an Akira Isogawa Mentorship Award.

The highlight of the night was the presentation of the Supreme Award, sponsored by AWI, which provides a developing Australian designer with a wool industry tour to Italy, designed to foster their ambition for a career in the industry and strengthen their understanding of the industry from fleece to fashion.

The Award was presented by AWI Chairman Jock Laurie to Chelsea Mitchell who graduated last year with a Bachelor of Design in Fashion from Whitehouse Institute of Design in Sydney.

The Award will provide Chelsea with an opportunity to gain global exposure to the wool supply chain through an ‘industry immersion’ at AWI’s office in Milan, Italy, and will include a visit to a trend forecasting and design studio in Tuscany plus a tour of the mills that process Australian wool in Biella. Chelsea will also receive ongoing professional training and development opportunities from AWI in Sydney.

Fleece to Fashion Chairman and fourth-generation woolgrower Lachlan Fulloon of Armidale said this year’s event in Uralla was a hugely successful gathering for woolgrowers, fashion designers, the New England community, and wool industry stakeholders.

“Connecting the next generation of designers with the New England wool-growing community fosters deep appreciation for how farming and fashion can work together to showcase this remarkable fibre and keep it on the world’s catwalks,” he said.