In February, one of the world’s most popular designers Karl Lagerfeld passed away at the age of 85. In his honor, LVMH has announced they’ll name one of their annual fashion prizes after him.
The LVHM Prize for young fashion designers called ‘The Special Prize’ was launched in 2014 and it awards budding designers with £136,000. In addition, the winner will be taught skills such as sourcing, production, distribution, communication and marketing by the LVHM team.
This renaming in honor of Karl Lagerfeld makes sense, indeed Lagerfeld worked as a member of the jury for the LVHM Prize since the prize launched.
“He was fully committed to it since day one, transporting us with his enthusiasm and his energy, sharing with everyone, whether other jury members or candidates, his culture and his passion for fashion. We shall always cherish those precious moments“, said Delphine Arnault, director and vice president of Louis Vuitton.
In so doing, the Karl Lagerfeld Prize will be the highest distinction of the LVHM Prize for Young Fashion Designer. To participate, you should be under 40 and have created and sold at least two women’s or men’s ready-to-wear collections.
This contest has grown in popularity over the years, and this year, it has attracted 1,700 applicants from all around the world. The finalists for this year are Anrealage, designed by Kunihiko Morinaga; Bethany Williams; Bode by Emily Adams Bode; Hed Mayner; Kenneth Ize; Phipps by Spencer Phipps; Stefan Cooke by Stefan Cooke and Jake Burt, and Thebe Magugu.
The jury is composed of Maria Grazia Chiuri, Nicolas Ghesquière, Kris Van Assche, Clare Waight Keller, Jonathan Anderson and Marc Jacobs, as well as some of LVMH’s most important figures.
Finally, the first Karl Lagerfeld Prize will be awarded on September 4 in Paris.
Check out this year’s judges and participants of previous competitions for the LVMH Prize.
Masayuki Ino, winner 2018
2019 Jury
Simon Porte Jacquemus
Grace Wales Bonner with her LVMH Prize in 2016
Kozaburo Akasaka
Marine Serre
#Peace.Love.KarlLagerfeld
