Many of today’s top talents and culture-making designers have been either discovered or boosted by the LVMH Prize.
Shayne Oliver of Hood By Air won a special prize back in 2014, as did Jacquemus the following year; Grace Wales Bonner won the grand prize in 2016, ditto Marine Serre the next year, and Nensi Dojaka in 2021; acclaimed talents Colm Dillane of KidSuper, Peter Do, Chopova Lowena, and Hed Mayner have also made their way through the program. Today, the LVMH Prize is announcing its 2023 semifinalists, 22 designers from around the world, many of whom you’ve likely never heard of.
“When we launched the Prize, the idea was to help highlight tomorrow’s talents,” shared Delphine Arnault, CEO of Christian Dior. “After the last 10 years, it has enabled hundreds, if not thousands of young designers to develop their creativity and careers.”
According to Arnault, there were over 2,400 candidates this year, a significant increase over last year’s 1,900. This year’s semifinalists hail from all over the world, including Ukraine, Brazil, Estonia, and Jamaica, and in the mix are three menswear focused designers, eight womenswear designers, and 11 designers who present their work either as a combination of menswear and genderless or genderless only. “All the semifinalists are anchored in today’s world,” Arnault said. “The increasing amount of genderless collections is a major trend, especially for the young generation.” She went on to say that the semifinalist round is a great moment “for us and for all the experts to consider our business in terms of creation, production, or retail, and help us challenge the boundaries of innovation and creativity.”
The Prize has evolved over the past few years, many of its changes brought upon by the pandemic. In 2020, it awarded all eight finalists rather than naming winners, and, in 2021, it introduced public voting online. “In 2020, we had to adapt and to rethink the way we show the designer’s work,” Arnault said. “Over the last three years, the candidates’ profiles have evolved and they all have shown great ability in adapting to this new world: they have e-commerce sites, are present on social media, and they all embrace an approach to creating and producing that takes into account the challenges of our industry.”
This year, the Prize will once again be showcased online, and the public, in addition to experts including Law Roach and Gabriella Karefa-Johnson will be able to discover the designers and vote for their favorite semifinalists.
An in-person showroom will take place in Paris on March 2nd and March 3rd. The public will be welcome to vote online from March 1st to March 5th.
Until then, meet the 2023 LVMH Prize semifinalists here.
Aaron Esh, menswear brand designed by Aaron Esh from the United Kingdom.
Anne Isabella, womenswear brand designed by Anne Isabella Rasmussen from France.
Bettter, womenswear brand designed by Julie Pelipas from Ukraine.
Bloke, genderless brand designed by Faith Oluwajimi from Nigeria.
Burc Akyol, genderless brand designed by Burc Akyol from France.
Charlie Constantinou, menswear and genderless brand designed by Charlie Constantinou from the United Kingdom.
Diotima, womenswear brand designed by Rachel Scott from Jamaica.
Joao Maraschin, womenswear brand designed by Joao Maraschin from Brazil.
Johanna Parv, womenswear brand designed by Johanna Parv from Estonia.
Juntae Kim, genderless brand designed by Juntae Kim from South Korea.
Karu, menswear brand designed by Kartik Kumra from India.
Kusikohc, genderless brand designed by Cho Giseok from South Korea.
Louis Shengtao Chen, womenswear brand designed by Louis Shengtao Chen from China.
Luar, womenswear, menswear, and genderless brand designed by Raul Lopez from the United States.
Magliano, menswear and genderless brand designed by Luca Magliano from Italy.
Marrknull, menswear brand designed by Wei Wang Tian Shi from China.
Namesake, menswear brand designed by Steve Hsieh, Michael Hsieh, and Richard Hsieh from Taiwan.
Paolina Russo, womenswear brand designed by Paolina Russo and Lucile Guilmard from Canada.
Quira, womenswear brand designed by Veronica Leoni from Italy.
Setchu, genderless brand designed by Satoshi Kuwata from Japan.
Stinarand, genderless brand designed by Stina Randestad from Sweden.
Wataru Tominaga, genderless brand designed by Wataru Tominaga from Japan.
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
