2022/23 junior competition winner
Ben Stosic

The Wool4School 2022/23 United Kingdom competition invited students to design a unique outfit that blends both old and new, featuring pre-loved items and a minimum of 70% Merino wool.

Ben Stosic from Hethersett Academy has claimed the top spot in the junior student category of the competition for an environmentally conscious ski-wear design. Judged by International Woolmark Prize 2022 winner, Saul Nash, the performance wear design features an environmentally conscious approach to Merino wool performance wear, harnessing the natural fibre blended with other performance fibres as well as elements of the design featuring pre-owned retro woollen fleece.

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VIP judge, Saul Nash, praised Ben’s Wool4School design for its focused research and innovative approach to implementing wool in performance wear, as well as considering the environmental aspects of the design:  

“It is clear this designer has done their research on wool and how it can be implemented as a material into performance wear. They were also environmentally conscious in their approach. This designer’s drawings were clear, and this enabled me to truly understand the intention behind their garments”, said Saul Nash.  

As the junior student category winner, Ben has won a suite of Wool4School prizes including a short course at the University of the Arts London, an XP-Pen Graphic Tablet and a 1-year subscription to Vogue magazine.  

We caught up with Ben to discuss Wool4School: 

What made you enter the competition? 

At school, before starting our GCSE textiles NEA coursework, my teacher organised for our class to partake in the Wool4School competition to get used to how to present our work and ideas to a high standard, as well as working towards a design brief and specification and being able to broaden our ideas around something which can seem quite limited. 

Can you explain your design? 

My design is an outfit which may be worn by someone who balances both alpinism and urban life, where Merino wool is reinforced for both aesthetic and functional purposes to serve in these opposite environments, both with their own challenges and hardships.  

Moreover, as a climber myself, it has allowed me to implement lots of my personal exposure into the attire of alpinists while both up mountains or exploring the village below, where I have been able to combine features of both in my design to maximise its use.  

The design also focuses on the reuse of pre-owned products which is a very relevant topic in the outdoor industry where materials which are designed to endure the harshest of conditions are thrown away after very little use, therefore, my design repurposes some of these high-quality materials to prevent landfill which overarchingly reduces our impact on the environment and climate change. 

What was your favourite part of the competition? 

I really enjoyed researching all the uses of wool and its ability to be used in a multitude of fabrics and not just knitted into jumpers or felted into coats. 

What are your thoughts on your win? 

By taking part as a school assignment, I have seen the standard of competition I was up against so it came as a total surprise that I had won against such a strong and talented cohort. 

Advice for students taking part next year? 

I would say that I recommend creating a product around something which interests you as it allows you to build upon something you already love, therefore you can construct more appealing ideas and concepts surrounding your design as well as intrigue you more to work on this project. 

Registration of interest for the Wool4School 2023/24 competition has begun, with next year’s competition exploring the theme ‘Earth, Water, Fire, Air’. You can register your interest for Wool4School 2023/24 here.