The 2014 European nominees for the coveted International Woolmark Prize, which launched the careers of Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld, have been announced.

British brands – by ELLE favourite Paula Gerbase – and Agi & Sam have been shortlisted in their respective womenswear and menswear categories. The shortlist was compiled with the help of the British Fashion Council, among other key organisations.

Woolmark’s Managing Director, Stuart McCullough, said: ‘Previous winners, Christian Wijnants from Belgium and Rahul Mishra from India, have both experienced exponential increase in the turnover of their business, becoming international names overnight after their respective wins in London in 2013 and Milan in 2014.’

Regional awards will be held in Europe, America, Asia, Australia and India to select the 10 finalists. The five menswear finalists will then meet at London Collections: Men in January next year, while the five womenswear finalists will meet in Beijing next March.

The overall winners will receive over £50,000, and see their collection stocked in key retail partners, such as Harvey Nichols and mytheresa.com. Previous winners have gone on to establish partnerships with the likes of Richard Nicoll and Victoria Beckham.