LVMH PRIZE UNVEILS ITS 9 FINALISTS

Congratulated by the likes of tennis superstar and LVMH Prize 2021 ambassador Naomi Osaka

This year’s LVMH Prize underwent a head-to-toe makeover. Although this shift was incited by trying times, it was nonetheless taken in stride. For the first time, the roster of designers presented their work via digital showroom, and were voted on by the public. Even more in the spirit of change, this year the Prize has made space for an extra finalist, extending the lineup to nine instead of the usual eight.

Moving to the final round and receiving congratulations from Naomi Osaka—currently one of the biggest names in tennis and this year’s Prize ambassador—are Bianca Saunders, Charles de Vilmorin, Christopher John Rogers, Conner Ives, KidSuper’s Colm Dillane, Kika Vargas, Lukhanyo Mdingi, Nensi Dojaka, and Rui’s Rui Zhou. A collection of talent from all over the world, and for the first time this includes Albania (Dojaka) and Colombia (Vargas.) A few of the finalists took to their social media accounts to celebrate.

“It is an honour to be able to announce that I am apart of the Final of @lvmhprize 2021. WOW! I’ve never been more scared and proud to be myself as I can not predict what blessings the future holds! Thank you to my entire team for constantly being patient and supportive,” captioned Saunders on a celebratory Instagram post. “I love you all. To all the late nights and the doubting thoughts! it makes going forward and trusting my vision much more worth it…”

From exuberant palettes, skin-baring sheers and alluring silhouettes, the penultimate creations are a panacea for the humdrum. So much so that LVMH experts struggled to narrow down the final selections. Delphine Arnault, executive vice president of Louis Vuitton and founder of the LVMH Prize, told Vogue “The quality of the semi-finalists was such that the committee of experts could not decide between them.”

The luxury goods company has also announced that 24S and e-commerce site Ssense will be teaming up with a select group from the final nine for an exclusive capsule collection. If the pandemic allows it, the final will see them all to convene in the French capital in the Fall, with a jury to be announced in the coming weeks.

See below for a look at the finalists’ creations.

Charles de Vilmorin
Christopher John Rogers
Bianca Saunders
Nensi Dojaka
Rui
Lukhanyo Mdingi
KidSuper
Kika Vargas
Conner Ives
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