Here are the finalists for the 2026 LVMH Prize For the first time, an African designer, Anil Padia, has been shortlisted

Every year the LVMH Prize manages to offer a fairly accurate snapshot of where emerging fashion is heading globally, and the 2026 edition is no exception. In fact, in some ways it goes further: with over 2,400 applications received, the Prize went through an initial selection phase that brought twenty young designers to present their collections to the Prize Experts on 4 and 5 March at La Samaritaine in Paris, one of the LVMH group's landmark spaces in the city.

From this first phase emerged nine finalists, who will compete for the industry's most prestigious recognition on 4 September at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. This year's edition, unlike previous ones, stands out for the heterogeneity of its finalists, who truly come from all over the world. But let's take a look at who they are.

A More Representative Selection

What stands out about this year's selection is, as mentioned, its geographical heterogeneity. The nine finalists come from very different backgrounds: the United States, France, Georgia, Belgium, China, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Spain and, for the first time in the history of the Prize, Kenya. It is Anil Padia, founder of YOSHITA 1967, who marks this entry of Africa into the competition, a fact that Delphine Arnault explicitly highlighted in her statement, reading it as a signal of the increasingly global reach that the Prize has built over time.

The other finalists are Colleen Allen with her eponymous American womenswear brand, Gabriel Figueiredo with DE PINO from France, Galib Gassanoff with INSTITUTION from Georgia, one of the few names in the running with a proposal spanning womenswear, menswear and genderless collections; Julie Kegels from Belgium, Zane Li with LII from China, Petra Fagerström from Sweden, Harry Pontefract with PONTE from the United Kingdom and Daniel del Valle Fernandez with THE VXLLEY from Spain, also with a genderless proposal. Many of these names have already made waves during the recent fashion weeks.

How the Award Ceremony Will Unfold

During the 4 September final, three separate prizes will be awarded. The LVMH Prize, the most coveted, comes with a €400,000 endowment and a year of structured mentorship with the group's teams. The Karl Lagerfeld Prize and the Savoir-Faire Prize are each worth €200,000, and are likewise accompanied by a year-long mentorship programme. In addition, every year a recognition is dedicated to three young fashion school graduates, who each receive €10,000, a donation to their school and a year of experience within the studio of one of the group's maisons.

What makes this edition particularly interesting is also the composition of the jury, which this year welcomes some significant new additions — namely the new creative directors of the group's brands. Alongside returning figures such as Nicolas Ghesquière, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Nigo, Phoebe Philo and Pharrell Williams, this year will see for the first time Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez from Loewe, Camille Miceli from Pucci and Michael Rider from Celine. Joining them on the jury will also be Pietro Beccari, CEO of Louis Vuitton and the LVMH Fashion Group, confirming how the Prize is treated internally by the group as a strategic investment in the future of fashion rather than mere patronage.