Last Updated on March 13, 2014
French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH has revealed the twelve finalists for the LVMH Young Designer Prize, worth €300,000. For young designers, this is the equivalent of jackpot — there’s currently no other fashion prize worth more or associated with such a prestigious name.
The finalists will present their Autumn 2014 collections at the LVMH headquarters in May to a jury including Karl Lagerfeld, Raf Simons, Nicolas Ghesquière, Marc Jacobs, and Riccardo Tisci.
Who are fashion’s rising stars of tomorrow?
Atto by Julien Dossena
Before starting his own label, Julien Dossena worked at Balenciaga under Nicolas Ghesquière. Atto is inspired by Japanese minimalism and “the young French girl”.
CG by Chris Gelinas
New-York based Chris Gelinas honed his skills at Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, Balenciaga, and Theyskens’ Theory. His primary focus is construction, technical development, and craftsmanship.
Gabriele Colangelo
A familiar name from Milan Fashion Week, Colangelo is known for his understated and timeless approach to design.
Hood by Air
No other brand caused such a rift at the last New York Fashion Week. “Friends don’t let friends wear Hood by Air”, mused The Fashion Law on Twitter. Any publicity is good publicity, no?
Jacquemus
Simon Porte Jacquemus is another designer inspired by the young French girl. He launched Jacquemus at the ripe age of twenty.
Miuniku
Mumbai-based London College of Fashion graduates Nikita and Tina Sutradhar have a penchant for minimalism spiced up by bold colours. So far, they’ve produced two collections.
Thomas Tait
Thomas Tait was the youngest student ever to have completed an MA in womenswear at Central Saint Martins College. He’s stocked at Dover Street Market and Matches in London.
Tillmann Lauterbach
Paris-based Lauterbach designs for men who live a modern, fragmented lifestyle. He describes his approach as “very artisanal” and is fascinated by mundane objects.
Tim Coppens
New York-based menswear designer Coppens is inspired by cosmopolitan cities and street culture. After Barneys New York bought his first collection, the only way was up.
Simone Rocha
London Fashion Week darling Rocha is famous for her poetic collections and great design sensitivity.
SUNO
Max Osterweis and Erin Beatty launched SUNO after witnessing post-election violence in Kenya in 2008. They collaborate with local artisans in Kenya, India, Peru and New York.
Vika Gazinskaya
Moscow-based Gazinskaya was a street style star before emerging as a fashion designer. Her whimsical collections are inspired by Russian folklore, but have a thoroughly contemporary feel.
Style.com reports that Nigerian designer Maki Oh was on the shortlist for this prize. A great pity and a sad surprise that she didn't make the final 12. Her clothes are just sublime - far and away more creative and wearable than the ones chosen above since, as the report says, she is removed from the general group think. :(
In London, many people in the fashion industry were outraged that the Meadham Kirchhoff boys didn't make the final. Also, if you look at the images above, most of the finalists have a similar aesthetic - very minimalist, very what's in right now. I believe the purpose of the competition is to train the winner so that they can take over at one of LVMH's brands in the future. Meadham Kirchhoff are not nearly mainstream enough for this. The same goes for Maki Oh - she's based too far, and Nigeria's big moment in fashion has yet to come (being one of the MINT countries, I hope that changes soon).