Carefully narrowed down from 20 semifinalists, this list represents some of the boldest and most original visions fashion has seen in the last few years. The finalist designers are now preparing for the final round of competition, scheduled for September 3 at Paris’s Fondation Louis Vuitton.

Delphine Arnault, CEO of Christian Dior and founder of the prize, remarked on the exceptional diversity and skill evident in this year’s entries, noting the finalists’ mastery of “craftsmanship, tailoring, and refined vision,” reaffirming the prize’s commitment to fostering innovation and technical excellence in design.

V have compiled a closer look at the designers competing for the prestigious prize this year.

TOLU COKER

The British brand’s narrative-driven collections mix diasporic storytelling and activist messages into sophisticated womenswear. The label skillfully incorporates personal and cultural histories into clothing that prompts dialogue about identity, heritage, and social consciousness.

Born and raised in London to Nigerian parents, Coker graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2017 with First Class Honours in Fashion Design and Textile Print, following internships at Maison Margiela, JW Anderson, and Celine during Phoebe Philo’s tenure there. She launched her eponymous label in 2018, building a practice centered on reworking traditional Yoruba silhouettes (full skirts, ankle-fitted sokoto trousers, fitted komole dresses) using deadstock fabric, hand-embroidery, and screenprint. Her pieces have been worn by Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Tiwa Savage, and Mr Eazi, and in 2024 Catherine, Princess of Wales, stepped out in one of Coker’s double-breasted blazers. She’s a British Fashion Council NewGen alumna and has partnered with institutions including the Tate and Amnesty International.

Courtesy of LVMH (on the left, designer Tolu Coker)

TORISHÉJU

Bridging African and European cultural aesthetics, the British label delivers a compelling interplay of shapes characterized by vibrant textures and draping that challenges the perception of cultural hybridity through fashion.

Founded by Torishéju Dumi, who was born in Harlesden, London, to a Nigerian mother and a Nigerian-Brazilian father, the label draws on a Catholic upbringing steeped in ritual and the priestly garments Dumi observed at Mass as a child. She earned a menswear BA from London College of Fashion, worked at Celine and Ann Demeulemeester, trained at Lee Alexander McQueen’s Sarabande Foundation, and completed an MA at Central Saint Martins in 2021, where she caught the eye of Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, who became a mentor. Dumi launched the label in 2022, and her debut capsule, Mami Wata, named for a water spirit from Nigerian and South American folklore, was built entirely from deadstock fabric. Her Paris Fashion Week debut was opened by Naomi Campbell and closed by Paloma Elsesser; pieces from the collection were later acquired by the Met for its “Sleeping Beauties” exhibition, and she has designed custom looks for Zendaya.

Courtesy of LVMH (on the left, designer Torishéju Dumi)

ZOMER

The Dutch brand experiments with textiles, prints, and silhouettes, creating garments that question traditional dressing standards. Its collections reflect a bold, evolving voice in global fashion.

Zomer (Dutch for “summer”) was founded in Paris in 2023 by designer Danial Aitouganov, who is of Tatarstan heritage and was raised in Amsterdam, and stylist Imruh Asha, the fashion director at Dazed. The pair first crossed paths when Aitouganov asked Asha to style his Amsterdam Fashion Institute graduate shoot; Aitouganov went on to win the Lichting graduate award and hold design roles at Alexander Wang, Chloé, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton Homme before the two joined forces. The brand is known for kaleidoscopic color, playful asymmetry, and a puckish sense of theater: past runway shows have closed with child or elderly stand-ins taking the designers’ bows in their place.

Courtesy of LVMH (on the left, designer Danial Aitouganov)

ALL-IN

What started as a magazine is now a Paris-based fashion label whose defining style picks apart tropes of femininity (beauty queens, teen idols, pop stars) and reimagines them in genderless silhouettes.

The project began in 2015, when American photographer Benjamin Barron, fresh out of Bard College, launched All-In as an independent fashion-and-art publication; Norwegian designer Bror August Vestbø joined as creative director after attending the magazine’s launch party. Working almost entirely with vintage and deadstock finds, the duo builds each collection around a recurring, fictional female character and a loose narrative arc. Their accessories, including the laced-up “Level Boot” and bags nicknamed Carrie and Dolly, have become cult favorites, and the label is now stocked at Dover Street Market, 10 Corso Como, and Ssense.

Courtesy of LVMH (on the left, designers Benjamin Barron & Bror August Vestbø)

ALAINPAUL

The French label reworks menswear through refined tailoring that prioritizes movement over rigidity. The brand incorporates subtle asymmetries and fluid lines to offer a contemporary perspective on masculine codes.

Alain Paul was born in Hong Kong in 1989 to a French father and a Danish-Brazilian mother, and moved with his family to France at age eight, where he trained for a decade in classical ballet at Marseille’s École Nationale de Danse before turning to fashion at 18. He spent several years at Vetements under Demna, then joined Virgil Abloh’s design team at Louis Vuitton in 2018, where he stayed until 2022, a period that included helping finish Abloh’s final menswear collections after his death. In 2023, Paul co-founded Alainpaul with his husband and business partner, Luis Philippe. The brand treats the discipline of dance as a design principle, translating posture and controlled movement into tailoring.

Courtesy of LVMH (on the left, designer Alain Paul)

FRANCESCO MURANO

The Italian label produces sculptural womenswear with a baroque sensibility. Precision and control define each silhouette, balancing theatrical flair with functionality.

Born in 1997 in Agropoli, Italy, Murano studied fashion design at IED Milan, graduating in 2019 with the Camera Moda Italiana Fashion Award. That same year, Beyoncé’s stylist Zerina Akers discovered his work and put his designs on the star for the 2020 Grammys; Murano also won Vogue Italia’s “Who Is On Next?” scouting competition that year. He launched his eponymous label in 2021, building an aesthetic around the philosophical tension between Apollonian order and Dionysian excess, using the centuries-old moulage draping technique to give his sculptural silhouettes their theatrical volume. In 2024, he received the Italian Fashion Trust Grant for Emerging Brands.

Courtesy of LVMH (on the left, designer Francesco Murano)

SOSHIOTSUKI

The Japanese label’s menswear is shaped by traditions of ceremony and performance, with subtle shifts in proportion and form that both honor and challenge cultural codes.

Soshi Otsuki was born in 1990 in Chiba, Japan, and trained in the menswear course at Bunka Fashion College while also attending the experimental school Coconogacco. He launched his eponymous label in 2015, and after only two collections was shortlisted for the LVMH Prize in 2016, making him one of the youngest Japanese designers ever nominated. His tailoring draws heavily on Japan’s 1980s “bubble era,” when businessmen dressed head-to-toe in European suiting, filtered through a distinctly Japanese reinterpretation of that Italian tailoring tradition.

Courtesy of LVMH (on the left, designer Soshi Otsuki)

STEVE O SMITH

The British label explores themes of romance and distortion, offering garments that are emotionally charged, expressive, and grounded in a distinctive visual language.

Born in Amsterdam and raised in the UK, Smith studied at the Rhode Island School of Design before completing an MA at Central Saint Martins in 2022, the same year he launched his label. His process starts with expressive drawing: instinctive ink and acrylic marks on paper, which are then translated into garments through appliqué and construction techniques that preserve the gesture of the original sketch. Output is deliberately limited and made-to-order, treating each piece as a wearable drawing. His designs have been worn by Harry Styles, Cate Blanchett, Eddie Redmayne, and Rina Sawayama.

Courtesy of LVMH (on the left, designer Steve O Smith)

The winner of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers receives a €400,000 grant along with a tailored one-year mentorship from LVMH teams. Additionally, two other distinctions, the Karl Lagerfeld Prize and the Savoir-Faire Prize, are each awarded with a €200,000 allocation and a year-long mentorship by LVMH experts.

Furthermore, each year the prize honors three young fashion school graduates. Each selected graduate, along with their respective school, receives €10,000 and is given the opportunity to join the design studio of an LVMH House for one year.

Courtesy of LVMH

The prize jury continues to include some of fashion’s most respected names, from Edward Enninful and Suzy Menkes to Pharrell Williams, Law Roach, Maria Grazia Chiuri, and Nicolas Ghesquière. Their support highlights the award’s influential role as a career-defining endorsement for emerging designers.

Ultimately, the LVMH Prize represents more than financial support or industry recognition; it’s a powerful endorsement of fashion’s next generation and a catalyst for the change they are encouraged to bring.

Courtesy of LVMH – ZOMER LVMH Silhouette

Courtesy of LVMH – TORISHÉJU LVMH Silhouette

Courtesy of LVMH – Tolu Coker LVMH Silhouette

Courtesy of LVMH – Steve O Smith LVMH Silhouette

Courtesy of LVMH – Soshiotsuki LVMH Silhouette

Courtesy of LVMH – Francesco Murano LVMH Silhouette

Courtesy of LVMH – ALL-IN LVMH Silhouette

Courtesy of LVMH – ALAINPAUL LVMH Silhouette