The 9th Edition of the LVMH Prize For Young Designers Revealed
With previous winners including Marine Serre, Grace Wales Bonner, Marques'Almeida and Jacquemus it's no wonder the LVMH prize is one of fashion's most sought after accolades. As 1,900 entries were whittled down to a mere 19 young designers (originally 20 before Maximilian Davis dropped out to head up Salvatore Ferragamo) a final eight have been chosen, who will present their collections to the jury at the Louis Vuitton foundation.
Alongside the judging panel, this year was also the second year in a row that the general public could vote for their favourite candidates, having a say in the overall winner.
'With their creations, all the semi-finalists of this edition show great talent, but also real maturity' Delphine Arnault said in a statement. Speaking on the extra lengths designers have to go to just to survive in the industry, Arnault added, 'They are committed, passionate and interested in all aspects of their business. Nowadays, designers are required to do much more than simply designing, and the candidates also have a real interest in all related yet essential issues from marketing to sourcing, image… Everything matters in a brand!'
The eight finalists are:
ASHLYN by Ashlynn Park, womenswear, South Korean designer based in New York
ERL by Eli Russell Linnetz, genderless, American designer based in the US
KNWLS by Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault, womenswear, based in London
ROISIN PIERCE by Róisín Pierce, womenswear, Irish designer based in Dublin
RYUNOSUKEOKAZAKI by Ryunosuke Okazaki, genderless, Japanese designer based in Japan
S.S DALEY by Steven Stokey Daley, menswear, based in London
TOKYO JAMES by Iniye Tokyo James, menswear, based in London
WINNIE NEW YORK by Idris Balogun, menswear, based in the US.