PARIS — The LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers on Friday announced the nine finalists for this year’s award, reflecting the global reach of the competition with a shortlist that includes designers from the United States, Europe, China and, for the first time, Kenya.
The date of the final has been set for Sept. 4 at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and jury deliberations could be spiced up by a major reshuffle of its star designer cast following the appointment of a slew of new creative directors last year.
Among those competing for the 400,000-euro grand prize are Belgian brand Julie Kegels, Sweden’s Petra Fagerström, French designer Gabriel Figueiredo’s brand De Pino, Ponte by British designer Harry Pontefract, and Spanish designer Daniel del Valle’s label The Vxlley.
Rounding out the group are Institution by Galib Gassanoff from Georgia, Chinese designer Zane Li’s label Lii, U.S. designer Colleen Allen and Kenya-based Yoshita 1967 by Anil Padia.
“The finalists demonstrated a singular creative vision while offering highly sophisticated interpretations of traditional craftsmanship,” said Delphine Arnault, the force behind the initiative and a key talent scout at family-controlled luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
At the LVMH Prize showroom held during Paris Fashion Week in March, the executive – who is chairman and chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture – noted that many of the designers have experience working for major houses.
Figueiredo freelances for Dior, while Pontefract is a member of Glenn Martens’ team within Maison Margiela’s Artisanal haute couture division.
Kegels has worked at Alaïa, Fägerstrom at Balenciaga, while Allen cut her teeth at The Row and Calvin Klein before establishing her label. Meanwhile, Padia’s online CV includes stints at Paco Rabanne, Y/Project, Jacquemus and Ellery.
Joining the jury of this year’s edition are Michael Rider, creative director of Celine, and Loewe designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, following their runway debuts last year, as well as Camille Miceli, artistic director of Pucci since 2021.
The finalists of the 2026 LVMH Prize for Young Designers.
Courtesy of LVMH Prize
Also new is Pietro Beccari, chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton, who last December expanded his remit to become CEO of LVMH Fashion Group, the entity that includes Fendi, Celine, Loewe, Givenchy, Kenzo, Marc Jacobs, Pucci and Patou.
Having sat out last year’s edition following her departure from Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri is back in her capacity as chief creative officer of Fendi. She succeeds Silvia Venturini Fendi in the seat.
That brings the total number of jury members to 17, versus 12 last year.
The annual design prize has helped propel the careers of such talents as Marine Serre, Thebe Magugu, Simon Porte Jacquemus and Grace Wales Bonner. Last year’s winner was Soshiotsuki by Japanese designer Soshi Otsuki, who has gained cult status for his oversize suits inspired by ‘80s-era Giorgio Armani.
The grand prize winner receives a 400,000-euro endowment and mentorship by LVMH teams in such areas as sustainability, communications, marketing, legal, production and finance. The winners of the Karl Lagerfeld Prize and the Savoir-Faire Prize each receive a 200,000-euro allocation plus one year of mentorship from LVMH experts.
To qualify, designers must be between the ages of 18 and 40 and have at least two commercialized womenswear, menswear or genderless collections under their belt. In addition, three fashion school graduates are to be awarded 10,000 euros each and a one-year placement in the design studio of an LVMH brand.
The finalists were selected by a committee of leading fashion industry figures including Fabien Baron, Carmen Busquets, Eva Chen, Edward Enninful, Adrian Joffe and Natalia Vodianova.
Delphine Arnault at the LVMH Prize cocktail during Paris Fashion Week.
Dominique Maitre/WWD
