New Delhi, July 20 :  Indian designer duo Pankaj and Nidhi, who has been named the winners of the International Woolmark Prize India award, will now compete with international designers at the final round in London next February.

The duo won the contest Thursday by defeating the likes of Aneeth Arora, Arjun Saluja, Gaurav Gupta, Rahul Mishra, Rimzing Dadu, Ritesh Kumar, Samant Chauhan, Smita-Himanshu and Zubair Kirmani.

The winners were selected by a panel of judges including Simon Lock, founder of Australian Fashion Week; Sunil Sethi, president of Fashion Design Council of India; Pradeep Hirani of Kimaya Fashion and fashion editor Priya Tanna.

"We look forward to supporting and working with Pankaj and Nidhi in the lead up to the finals in February where they have the chance to be awarded with the once in a lifetime opportunities that are on offer for the winner of the International Woolmark Prize," said Stuart McCullough, CEO of Australian Wool Innovation, owners of The Woolmark Company in a statement.

In February, Pankaj- Nidhi will compete with candidates from the US, Europe, China and Australia at the grand finale of International Woolmark Prize.

The international winner will get a chance to retail through international stores including Harvey Nichols in Britain and Lane Crawford in China.

© IANS