Who will succeed Nensi Dojaka, winner of 2021?
There were 1,900 candidates, now there are only 20. The LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers, which rewards emerging talent each year with a prize of €300,000, today announced its semi-finalists.
They will present their collections in Paris on March 4 and 5, while the public will be able to vote, from March 4 to 9, for their favorite candidate.
A committee of industry experts, including star model Bella Hadid, Comme des Garçons president Adrian Joffe, and artist Cindy Sherman, will also choose its elected officials.
Read alsoBehind the scenes of the LVMH prize
Among these twenty semi-finalists, there are Belgian, Nigerian, French, Chinese, Korean and American brands.
For the first time, Sri Lanka will be represented, through Amesh Wijesekera, founder of the Amesh brand.
Finalist of the 2017 edition, Pamolo Spain is in the selection, hoping to do better than during her previous participation (that year, the brilliant Frenchwoman Marine Serre won the prize).
The competition will be fierce, since several young talents have been talked about this year.
This is the case of the American Eli Russell Linnetz, of the ERL brand, who dressed rapper A$AP Rocky in a huge quilt that went viral at the MET Gala, the talented British Steven Stokey Daley, who only presented his first collection only last year in London, arousing great interest from critics and the public, or from Maximilian, whose creations have (notably) been worn by popstar Dua Lipa.
The French from Bluemarble and Weinsanto will also hope to win a place in the final, an opportunity to present their work to the most prestigious jury in fashion - it is made up of the artistic directors of the houses of the LVMH group (last year, Kim Jones, Virgil Abloh , Jonathan Anderson or Maria Grazia Chiuri..
“
The twenty semi-finalists are driven by an optimistic and innovative vision
,” explains Delphine Arnault, deputy general manager of Louis Vuitton, who initiated the competition.
All place eco-responsibility at the heart of their creative approach: use of recycled materials, work around upcycling... They are also very attached to integrating a more virtuous production system and some put the spotlight on artisanal and local know-how. .
The fluidity of the women's and men's locker rooms is another constant of this edition.
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