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Fashion prize awarded to rising designer Siki Im

July 24, 2015
Siki Im, second from left, and Tanya Taylor, second from right, won the U.S. regionals of the International Woolmark Prize. (Photo courtesy of BFA)

Siki Im, second from left, and Tanya Taylor, second from right, won the U.S. regionals of the International Woolmark Prize. (Photo courtesy of BFA)

Siki Im, 37, was chosen as the Woolmark Prize menswear winner of the year for U.S. regionals alongside womenswear winner Tanya Taylor.

A former architect, Im, whose Korean name is Im Sang-Kyun, made his New York Fashion Week debut three years ago.

The name “Siki” comes from the letter “I” added to the initials of his name. It also means “color” in Japanese.

Im launched another line, Den Im, earlier this year at NYFW, a laid-back version of his main line.

Born in Germany and educated in architecture at Oxford University, Im worked as an architect in cities around the world, including Seoul, before moving to New York in 2001 to work under Karl Lagerfeld and Helmut Lang.

The International Woolmark Prize is a widely recognized annual event that brings emerging and rising fashion designers to center stage in a competition to create the best designs from wool.

A $50,000 prize was included with the win; Im and Taylor will go on to the international competition in six months.