The LVMH Prize For Young Fashion Designers launched in 2013 and targets those driven by a passion for creativity. Every year, the prize rewards talented fashion designers for their outstanding creativity while offering mentorship and endowment to the rising stars.
How It Works
The LVMH committee selects only 20 finalists amongst the estimated 1700 applicants to present their designs at the LVMH headquarters showroom in Paris. There, 60 global fashion experts select the top 8 finalists. After the finalists go through an auditionm the jury selects 2 winners.
The Prize winners enjoy a one-year mentorship program that’s tailored to their needs, with specialized fields such as marketing and financial management of their brand.
The Vitality of such mentorship programs
Young fashion designers need to aspire for such mentorships as they empower and represent a unique and valuable opportunity to be mentored by real industry experts. These relationships combine creative and commercial success.
African candidates
The South African-born designer, Thebe Magugu, was the first African designer to win the prize in 2019. In 2021, another South African Designer – Lukhanyo Mdingi, made the top 20 semi–finalists cut. Mdingi is a Cape Town-based designer with a focus on men & womenswear. He won the Innovation Design and Materials Award at the local Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards in 2019, recognizing the designer’s innovative use of sustainable textiles. Mdingi is competing alongside fellow African designer Adeju Thompson, the Nigerian fashion brand owner of Lagos Space Programme,
The Jury
The committee includes world-renowned designers and fashion experts such as Robyn Rihanna Fenty – CEO and artistic director – Fenty. Maria Grazia Chiuri – Artistic Director – Dior, – Artistic Director for menswear at Louis Vuitton, Delphine Arnault – Executive Vice President – Louis Vuitton. Marc Jacobs – Artistic Director – Marc Jacobs, Sidney Toledano – Chairman and CEO – LVMH Fashion Group. Jean-Paul Claverie – Director of Sponsorship at LVMH, Nicolas Ghesquière – Artistic Director – Louis Vuitton. Jonathan Anderson – Artistic Director – Loewe and Kris Van Assche – Artistic Director – Berluti.
The LVMH Prize has set up a digital platform from April 6-11th. The 20 semi-finalists competing this year will be showcased on the dedicated website lvmhprize.com
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