That it’s been a tough twelve months for young designers the world over is a given, but today, 20 of the fashion industry’s brightest young things have a damn good cause to celebrate — they’ve made the final of the LVMH Prize. This is, as you well know, no mean feat. With a top prize of €300k and a year’s worth of top-tier mentorship, and an award of €150k and a similar mentorship package for the Karl Lagerfeld prize, this is one of fashion’s most clamoured-after gongs. This year’s crop of semi-finalists, which includes designers based in Nigeria, Colombia and Lebanon in addition to those from the industry’s traditional centres, have been carefully selected from over 1900 applicants.
Among the names on the list, you’ll notice a fair few names you’ve seen here before — Bianca Saunders, Saul Nash, Conner Ives, Nensi Dojaka and Rui, for example — as well as names like Christopher John Rogers, who stole the show at the Inauguration when Kamala Harris turned up in that purple coat, and Post Archive Faction, the Korean label making waves in tech-y streetwear scenes across the globe from their Seoul base.
As in previous editions, the eight designers going on to the final will be selected by a prestigious panel of industry insiders, which this year includes Bella Hadid and Vogue China’s newly appointed Editorial Director, Margaret Zhang. They’re joined by 23-year-old tennis superstar Naomi Osaka, who’s an ambassador for this year’s Prize.
Perhaps the most major change to the 2021 edition is that you are judges, too! That’s right, following in step with fashion’s move towards a more open, fairer way of working, the 20 designers’ collections will be shown in a virtual showroom from April 6th to 11th, where visitors will be able to vote for their favourites. Start swotting up on the names below, and make your pick!
AGR, a British womenswear brand based in the United Kingdom, designed by Alicia Robinson, 30
Bianca Saunders, a British menswear brand based in the United Kingdom, designed by Bianca Saunders, 28
Charles de Vilmorin, a French genderless brand based in France, designed by Charles de Vilmorin, 25
Christopher John Rogers, an American womenswear brand based in the United States, designed by Christopher John Rogers, 28
Conner Ives, an American womenswear brand based in the United Kingdom, designed by Conner Ives, 25
Federico Cina, an Italian genderless brand based in Italy, designed by Frederico Cina, 27
KidSuper, an American menswear brand based in the United States, designed by Colm Dillane, 30
Kika Vargas, a Columbian womenswear brand based in Columbia, designed by Kika Vargas, 38
Lagos Space Programme, a Nigerian genderless brand based in Nigeria, designed by Adeju Thompson, 30
Lukhanyo Mdingi, a South African womenswear and menswear brand based in South Africa, designed by Lukhanyo Mdingi, 29
Midorikawa Official, a Japanese genderless brand based in Japan, designed by Tadu Midorikawa, 39
Nensi Dojaka, an Albanian womenswear brand based in the United Kingdom, designed by Nensi Dojaka, 28
Post Archive Fashion, a Korean menswear brand based in South Korea, designed by Dongjoon Lim, 29
Renaissance Renaissance, a Lebanese womenswear brand based in Lebanon and France, designed by Cynthia Mehrej, 32
Rier, an Italian genderless brand based in France, designed by Andreas Steiner, 36
Rui, a Chinese genderless brand based in China, designed by Rui Zhou, 27
Saul Nash, a British menswear brand based in the United Kingdom, designed by Saul Nash, 31
Shuting Qiu, a Chinese womenswear brand based in China, designed by Shuting Qiu, 27
Taakk, a Japanese menswear brand based in Japan, designed by Takuya Morikawa, 39
Wed, a British womenswear brand based in the United Kingdom, designed by Amy Trinh and Evan Phillips, both 30