PARIS, Sep 20, 2004 / FW/ --- The Gwand Foundation announced the nominees for the 2004 Gwand Awards.

This year’s nominees are Cosmic Wonder (Japan), Ely Kishimoto (Great Britain), Haider Ackermann (Colombia), Laurent Mercier (Switzerland), Lutz (Germany), Preen (Great Britain) and Sophia Kokosalaki (Greece).

The finalists for the Swiss Textiles Awards were proposed by an international panel of experts, through an official nominations process and subsequent pre-selection procedure with those responsible for the Gwand Fashion Festival.

The panel of judges included Ako Tanaka, Arman Limnander, Carla Sozzani, Ezra Petronio, Gity Monsef, Harriet Quick, Joseph Quartana, Hirofumi Kurino, Marie-Christiane Marek, Makiko Takahashi, Paquita Paquin, Sarah Lerfel, Suzy Menkes, Jeroen van Rooijen, Michelle Nicol, Patrizia Crivelli, Christian Reymond and Rolf Nungesser.

The following awards will be distributed: the Swiss Textiles Award, the Ackermann Prêt-â-Porter Award, the Annabelle Award and the Lucerne Theatre Just-aux-Corps Award.

The winner of this year’s awards will be announced on November 27, 2004 during the Gwand Fashion Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland. The festival takes place from Thursday, November 25th to Sunday, November 28th.

This year marks the fifth time that the Swiss Textiles Federation will present its award to a contemporary designer.

The winner will receive from the Federation prize money totalling 100,000.00 Euros. This is said to be the most generous award in the world for fashion.

The prize itself will be used in assisting the winner in establishing an international fashion career. It is destined to pay for media work, fashion show production, commercial partners, etc.

For further information on the Gwand Festival and awards ceremony, contact: 2è Bureau at mail@2e-bureau.com.