Earlier today, Feb. 13, luxury conglomerate LVMH shared the list of 20 designers who had been named semifinalists for the annual LVMH Prize. They were chosen from over 2,300 applicants and hail from 15 countries. If they win at the prize ceremony in March, they'll earn unfettered access to mentorship from leading designers within the LVMH stable—along with the sort of funding that can make or break a small fashion brand.
The list includes names anyone training a close eye on the fashion month calendar's debut schedule will recognize: like Niklas Skovgaard, whose '80s-inspired dresses have been a fixture at Copenhagen Fashion Week in recent seasons, and All-In, the joint venture from Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø that counts Charli XCX and Lily Rose-Depp among its rapidly-growing fanbase. It's a competitive race every year, and winners have gone on to become industry staples with backing from the panel of 80 fashion experts who decide the final prizes. (See: 2016 winner Grace Wales Bonner and 2020 finalist Chopova Lowena.) But this year's list makes this editor particularly excited about the future of fashion.
