Amber Valletta, Phillip Lim and Livia Firth join the International Woolmark Prize judging panel

Amber Valletta has been unveiled as one of the judges for the upcoming 2017/18 International Woolmark Prize.

The model and actress will form part of the judging panel for the global final of the prestigious menswear and womenswear fashion competition, which will take place in Florence, Italy, on January 9 next year. The event ties in with the opening day of the menswear event Pitti Uomo, also taking place in the city.

She will be joined by a raft of fashion industry heavyweights, including designers Phillip Lim and Manish Malhotra, entrepreneur Miroslava Duma, film producer and sustainable fashion advocate Livia Firth and magazine editors Emanuele Farneti and Nonita Kalra. Fashion critic Sarah Mower and System Magazine founder Elizabeth Von Guttman will also be on the panel, alongside Pitti Immagine's Riccardo Vannetti, the Australian Wool Innovation's Julie Davies, and The Woolmark Company's Stuart McCullough. Representatives from the International Woolmark Prize retail partner network will also be involved in the judging process.

The final will see 12 different budding designers compete in separate menswear and womenswear categories, with the two eventual winners given AUS$200,000 to invest in their business, as well as the opportunity to see their pieces stocked in major global retailers such as Harvey Nichols, Lane Crawford, Hudson's Bay Company and online at mytheresa.com