LVMH Launches International Young Designer Competition

by The Daily Front Row

(NEW YORK) Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy is on the search for some fresh talent: New designers from around the globe will compete to take home the LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize, complete with a $405,000 grant along with a year of coaching.

Delphine Arnault, the current executive VP of Louis Vuitton, was the force behind the project, which is based online at LVMHprize.com. Unlike other designer competitions that have exclusive, geographically-limited rules for catapulting young designers to success, LVMH’s haute new competition allows designers around the world to register online from today until February 2nd. The only stipulation for the contest is that designers must be between the ages of 18 and 40 and should have commercially shown at least two ready-to-wear collections to date. Throughout the process, the contestants’ work will be displayed on the website, allowing input via comments and social media. The applicant pool will then be slimmed down to 30 international participants, all of whom will be flown to Paris during fashion week in March.

The remaining semifinalists will show off their collections in the auditorium of LVMH’s Avenue Montaigne HQ, where a slew of industry insiders will select ten contestants to move on. Finally, the contestants will meet the jury: Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Nicolas Ghesquière, Raf Simons, Phoebe Philo, Riccardo Tisci, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim. The finalists have only 20 minutes to woo the judges before a victor is chosen. The program will culminate in May 2014, and the winner will receive a trophy designed by Jean-Michel Othoniel. Further investing in promising young talent, LVMH has also disclosed details on a scholarship program that will provide aid to three fashion grads. Each student will receive a one-year stint in a design studio owned by the conglomerate, such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Fendi, Givenchy or Cèline, plus $13,500 apiece to further their fashion careers. 

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