LVMH is launching the LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize, an international competition to discover and support the designers of tomorrow. The global luxury group will be offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young professionals in design—the winners will get guidance from fashion gurus and money to realize their full potential.
The jury panel of the contest in its inaugural year includes eight creative directors of globally known fashion houses from the LVMH Group. These are Karl Lagerfeld (Fendi), Nicolas Ghesquière (Louis Vuitton), Humberto Leon and Carol Lim (Kenzo), Raf Simons (Dior) and Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy), Marc Jacobs (Marc Jacobs) and Phoebe Philo (Celine). Along with the designers, there will also be three notable figures from the LVMH management team—Delphine Arnault who is executive vice-president of Louis Vuitton, Jean-Paul Claverie who is advisor to Bernard Arnault and head of corporate philanthropy for LVMH, and Pierre-Yves Roussel who is the Chairman and CEO of the LVMH Fashion Group.
The competition is open for designers aged 18-40, who have already gained some experience in the fashion field—they are expected to have at least two women’s or men’s prêt-à-porter collections presented and sold. The submissions are accepted from November 21 through February 2. The jury will shortlist 10 finalists in March and select the winner in the end of May. LVMH is also calling fashion design students in their final year to join The Young Fashion Designer contest—the submission period is the same, the applicants are required to have created at least six original outfits in menswear or womenswear.
“The LVMH Prize has been created to support promising young fashion designers. This philanthropic initiative resonates powerfully with the core values of our Group,” commented Delphine Arnault. “Our designers will recognize the talents of tomorrow, who will receive awards and support in developing their brand. Our goal is clearly to energize the vitality and creativity of the fashion world on a global scale. As a leader in our industry, we have a responsibility to discover young talents and to help them flourish.”
The grand winner of the competition will walk away with a prize of €300,000 plus will get a personalized professional help from a LVMH team—advisement on intellectual property, sourcing, production and distribution, image and advertising, marketing, and more—in developing their company for as long as twelve months. The jury will also award three design students with €10,000 and provide them with opportunity to work with the design team at one of the Group brands for one year.
LVMH is also encouraging the international audience to support the new program. Users are invited to become fashion scouts, helping find younger talents across the globe and tell about them using photos. They are encouraged to share photos featuring works by their favorite young designers via Instagram using the hashtag #lvmhprize. The best contributor will be selected by fashion professionals based on the number of photos uploaded to the website, and their relevance to the objectives of the the LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize and the LVMH Prize for Graduates. The winner will join the board of experts during Fashion Week in Paris in 2014, and vote on the ten finalists presented to the Jury.