A chat with the finalists who are making the LVMH 2025 Prize one to watch

With alumni like Demna, Jacquemus, Marine Serre, and Ahluwalia, the LVMH Prize isn’t just an award—it’s the tarot spread for what’s next in fashion. The latest manifestation: 2024 Karl Lagerfeld Prize winner Duran Lantink was just tapped as the new creative director of Jean Paul Gaultier, cementing the prize’s rep as a serious launchpad. This year, over 2,000 designers applied. Only eight made the cut. On September 3, they’ll present their vision at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, where the Grand Prize, Karl Lagerfeld Prize, and Savoir-Faire Prize winners will be revealed. If you ask us, each of these names are already shaping the future of fashion. On their own terms. So let’s meet them.

Alainpaul

Alain Paul drifts instinctively between garment and movement. With his partner Luis Philippe, he co-founded ALAINPAUL in 2023, a brand where cut meets choreography, and art is embedded in every fold. A former dancer who trained at the École Nationale Supérieure de Danse de Marseille, Alain tells nss that while dance will always be part of him, the brand is evolving into its next act. "I want to bring the dancer’s wardrobe to the streets,” he says. The result? Pieces like those in the “Impro” collection, presented at Paris Fashion Week: fluid, free, designed for real life—and a beginning of something new. Before launching his own label, Alain sharpened his skills under Demna at Vetements and the late Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton. “They taught me to trust the vision, and not be afraid of scale,” he reflects. Sustainability isn’t a buzzword here, it’s a built-in mindset. “It’s been important since the first seasons,” he explains. Around 60% of the brand’s fabrics come from deadstock; the rest are chosen for traceability and impact. Virgin polyester is out. Organic cotton, recycled nylon, silk, and upcycled vintage leathers are in. “We made a jacket from four old ones. It made more sense to reuse than to start from scratch.” Being named a finalist for the 2025 LVMH Prize was a defining moment. “We were in our flat when we found out. You never expect it,” Alain says. “You have doubts, like, ‘Do people see what we’re trying to do?’” Now, with validation from one of fashion’s biggest platforms, ALAINPAUL is stepping into its next phase. “We’d like to expand how the brand presents clothing—through performances, collaborations.” Maybe even with dancers or choreographers? You just have to stick around to find out.

Francesco Murano 

“I love the drama,” Francesco Murano tells nss, eyes lighting up as he reflects on his creative evolution. “But I also learned how to express that drama in a lighter, more wearable way.” Known for his gravity-defying drapes and sculptural silhouettes that exalt the female form, Murano’s vision is rooted in childhood memories: his grandmother’s embroideries, early fabric experiments, and a deep fascination with classical art and sculpture. After studying at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan, his graduate collection caught the attention of Beyoncé’s stylist, leading to a custom look for the artist at a pre-Grammy brunch—a turning point that brought confidence and massive exposure. Since 2020, Murano has committed to a made-to-order model, refining his craftsmanship with a meticulous eye. “I do everything, from the idea to the patternmaking to the final sample,” he explains. Along with his eponymous brand, he honed his technique at major houses, most notably Alberta Ferretti, where he spent over two years perfecting his now-signature draping. “It taught me precision. It helped me bring structure to the irrational side of my creativity.” With his first runway show now behind him, Murano stands on the cusp of his biggest opportunity yet. “Just being a finalist is surreal,” he says. “I applied not expecting anything. To be one of the eight chosen out of thousands is already a win. It’s proof of the hard work. That means everything.”

Zomer

Imagine Zomer as a video game: it would feature mood-responsive garments, cloud sculptures, and wind paintings. “It’s something utopian, almost strange,” Danial Aitouganov tells nss, adding, “Floating islands with waterfalls, trees that don’t follow nature’s rules.” For him, Zomer isn’t just a wardrobe—it’s a world within a world. And to be honest, we wouldn’t mind to be in it. Born in Tatarstan and raised in the Netherlands, Danial studied design at AMFI, the country’s largest fashion institute. His co-founder, Imruh Asha, a Dutch-Caribbean creative who skipped fashion school, dove right into the industry early, working in a concept store and as a stylist. The two met in Amsterdam and launched Zomer in 2023, after nearly a decade of being behind the scenes. Now based in Paris, they say, “We were tired of building someone else’s vision. It’s time to express our own.” At the heart of Zomer’s design philosophy is play. “That energy came naturally to us,” they explain. “Play means freedom, creating without boundaries or rules. We follow intuition. It’s about exploration.” Each season tells a new level: vibrant colors, instinctive silhouettes, and pieces that feel like movement. Just four collections in, and already a finalist for the LVMH Prize. “It’s surreal. Feeling grateful. But now, it’s all about the finals.” Looking ahead, they both envision expanding Zomer’s universe: “Shops with galleries, a perfume, maybe even makeup. We want to grow—and have fun doing it.”

Tolu Coker

When British-Nigerian designer Tolu Coker found out she was a finalist for the prestigious 2025 LVMH Prize, it felt like a soft whisper from her ancestors. “It’s a confirmation that you’re walking the path they dreamed for you,” she shares. “I’m still processing. Still absorbing.” Since launching her eponymous brand in 2018, Coker has captured global attention, with her designs worn by style icons like Rihanna and Thandiwe Newton. Her work, deeply rooted in her heritage, blends African craftsmanship with contemporary design. Coker reimagines reclaimed and upcycled materials through innovative fits and forms, proving that sustainability and high fashion can coexist. Batik, loom weaving, and hand-embroidery meet modern technologies, creating a seamless fusion of the history and the self. This isn’t just fashion, it’s a redefinition of design. For Coker, it is not about luxury but about honoring culture, promoting sustainability, and advancing social equity. Her brand extends beyond clothing into exhibitions, films, and global initiatives, all challenging industry norms, and using the power of design to inspire much-needed change.

Soshiotsuki

Tailoring is in good hands with designer Soshi Otsuki. He’s reprogramming the practice, hoping to change how people view suits in general. “I’d like to change the world’s perception of suits,” the 35-year-old Japanese designer recently told Le Monde. With a background in traditional Japanese performing arts and an education from Bunka Fashion College and Coconogacco, Otsuki you will notice that his silhouettes are precise but they are never stiff. It’s a classic, but there’s an offbeat side to it. He shares in interviews that he himself is informed by Noh theatre and kabuki, and his collections pull gestures from the stage creating this sort of dialogue between restraint and ritual, maybe even rebellion. Like his design hero Hedi Slimane during Dior Homme, Otsuki understands the power of cut. But his suits speak more quietly, shaped by culture over commerce. Now a 2025 LVMH Prize finalist, Otsuki stands on the brink of global recognition, yet remains focused on craft over hype. His work showcases an inspiring level of expertise in tailoring and craftsmanship, with a refinement that is transforming the future of the suit.

Steve O Smith 

Steve O. Smith isn’t just making clothes, he’s drawing them. The London-based designer, who earned his MA at Central Saint Martins, has mastered the art of translating his sketches into fully realized designs. Through a masterful blend of fabric appliqué and razor-sharp pattern cutting, his pieces embody the spontaneity and flow of drawing. “I consider the clothes I make to be drawings in their own right,” he told W Magazine. “So it’s important for me that not too many exist and they don’t end up on sale at T.J. Maxx.” There’s no room for mass production here. Each piece is made to order, a subtle rebellion against the fast-paced world of seasonal drops. Smith’s designs are defined by lines that curve and dart across the body, translating emotion into silhouette. The result is a body of work that feels both intimate and immediate, freshly deliberate in an industry transfixed with logos and overproduction. Steve O. Smith is not just designing garments; he’s drawing new lines, both literally and metaphorically, around the future of fashion.

Torishéju

Torishéju Dumi of Torishéju aims to redefine fashion as we know it. Exposed early to the world of design through her mother’s passion for 19th-century art and fashion, Torisheju’s Nigerian-Brazilian background deeply informs her creative vision. Religion, tradition, and spirituality are central themes in her work, shaping her landscape of cultural narratives and Black artistry. A graduate of Central Saint Martins’ MA Fashion program and an alumna of the Sarabande Foundation, Torisheju honed her skills at Céline under Phoebe Philo and further refined her craft at prestigious fashion houses such as Giles Deacon, Ann Demeulemeester, and Sibling London. Her debut collection, Fire on the Mountain, quickly garnered attention, with pieces worn by the likes of Zendaya and Naomi Campbell, who notably opened Torisheju’s first Paris show. “When I was younger,” says Dumi in her W interview, “all I wanted was to be in Dover Street Market. That was it.” And it’s already happening and more. Recently, a defining moment came when she received an email from Andrew Bolton requesting pieces from her MAMI WATA collection for the Met Institute’s permanent collection. Safe to say, it’s an acknowledgment of her growing impact in the fashion industry. The best is yet to come.

All-In

Founded by Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø, All–In began as a magazine in 2015 before expanding into fashion in 2019. But really, the lines between the two were never all that clear. A collection becomes an editorial, an editorial a collection—everything loops back. To fully understand it, you’d need to be inside their heads. But their references offer clues: heightened femininity, Lotta Volkova–with-her-dog-Dima levels of styling, beauty pageant queens, fading pop stars, bubblegum debutantes lost in a TikTok scroll-a-thon. It’s always about the character—how identity can be recontextualized through clothes. Garments become storytelling scripts, pulling apart and piecing back together personas. The result is a dream: striking silhouettes, often with something just slightly… off. As they told Wallpaper this week, “Our pieces are meant to be fun, but there’s always an element of something being off. We don't like when things feel very specific. If something can be easily placed, then it doesn't really feel All–In.”