young talent

3 Gender-Neutral Designers Were Nominated for Fashion’s Biggest Prize

2018 LVMH Prize finalists. Photo: courtesy LVMH prize

A panel consisting of Bella Hadid and 47 other international fashion experts has selected nine designers as this year’s LVMH Prize finalists. The group was picked out of 1,300 applicants from over 90 countries, then whittled down further from 20 semi-finalists, who presented their collections in Paris earlier this month.

Usually, the prize goes to eight people, but “the quality and the standard of the fifth edition of the LVMH Prize made it difficult for our experts to narrow down the selection,” Delphine Arnault, director and executive vice-president of LVMH.

Arnault described these finalists as representing a “real diversity of talent,” with a mix of menswear and womenswear, as well as three designers creating gender-neutral fashion. Nearly half the finalists are also based in London, a city known for fostering young designers.

On Friday June 6, 2018, these nine finalists will present their work at the Fondation Louis Vuitton to a jury including Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel, Louis Vuitton’s Nicolas Ghesquière, Marc Jacobs, Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri, Jonathan Anderson of Loewe, Givenchy’s Clare Waight Keller, Haider Ackermann of Berluti, and Kenzo designers Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, among others.

The winner will receive 300,000 euros, plus a year of coaching from experts at luxury giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Last year’s winner was Marine Serre, whose debut show at Paris Fashion Week this season was well-received by many critics.

The 9 finalists are (in alphabetical order):

A-COLD-WALL by Samuel Ross (British designer based in London). Menswear showing in London.

BOTTER by Rushemy Botter & Lisi Herrebrugh (Dutch designers based in Antwerp). Menswear showing in Paris.

CHARLES JEFFREY LOVERBOY by Charles Jeffrey (British designer based in London). Womenswear and menswear showing in London.

DOUBLET by Masayuki Ino (Japanese designer based in Tokyo). Gender-neutral fashion showing in Tokyo.

ECKHAUS LATTA by Zoe Latta & Mike Eckhaus (American designers based in New York and Los Angeles). Womenswear and menswear showing in New York.

KWAIDAN EDITIONS by Léa Dickely & Hung La (French and American-Vietnamese designers based in London). Womenswear showing in Paris.

LUDOVIC DE SAINT SERNIN by Ludovic de Saint Sernin (French designer based in Paris). Gender-neutral fashion showing in Paris.

MATTHEW ADAMS DOLAN by Matthew Adams Dolan (American designer based in New York). Gender-neutral fashion showing in New York.

ROKH by Rok Hwang (South Korean designer based in London). Womenswear showing in Paris.

3 Gender-Neutral Designers Nominated for Major Fashion Prize