Beijing, March 18 (IANS): American designer Marcia Patmos of M.PATMOS label has been named the winner of the 2015 women’s International Woolmark Prize (IWP).

The judging panel of the event, which took place here on Tuesday, included prominent names like designer Victoria Beckham; Angelica Cheung, editor-in-chief of Vogue China; and Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia.

After a global search, reaching across 21 countries and involving more than 60 designers, the competition -- besides Patmos -- narrowed down to four other selected design talents -- VMAJOR from China, STRATEAS.CARLUCCI from Australia, AUGUSTIN TEBOUL from Germany and Bird on a Wire from Lebanon.

"The International Woolmark Prize gives emerging talent from wherever they are an incredible opportunity. I’m really excited to be here in Beijing to be part of this event. I felt that Patmos embodied best what the IWP stands for. The collection was well executed and the concept interesting,” Beckham said in a statement.

Fellow judge, Colin McDowell, fashion commentator and journalist, thought that it was a "very sophisticated collection which used Merino wool to make clothes that were elegant but also young in spirit".

Patmos was excited about her big win.

"Thank you to The Woolmark Company for creating this great platform to support emerging designers," said Patmos.

The winner also received a financial contribution of US $76,366 and the opportunity to be stocked in important retailers around the globe including Saks Fifth Avenue, Harvey Nichols, 10 Corso Como, JOYCE, Isetan Mitsukoshi, David Jones and mytheresa.com.

The collection will be available in partner retailers globally from August 2015.