Julie Kegels Is the Winner of the 2026 LVMH Prize Young Fashion Between Research, Identity, and New Forms of Luxury
Belgian designer Julie Kegels is the winner of the LVMH Prize for Young Designers, one of the most prestigious international awards for emerging fashion talent. The announcement took place in Paris, at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, before a jury made up of some of the most influential figures in the LVMH group and the international fashion world.
The prize was symbolically presented by American actress Jennifer Lawrence, a Dior ambassador. For Kegels, the award represents a major career milestone as well as significant financial support. The main prize amounts to €400,000, complemented by a one-year mentoring programme with LVMH group specialists. The support covers several aspects of building a fashion business, allowing the winner to engage with expertise ranging from production to communications, through to brand management and international development.
The evening's second award went to Zane Li, a Chinese designer at the helm of the label Lii. His project received the Karl Lagerfeld Special Jury Prize, worth €200,000. This award will also include an annual consultancy programme. Finally, an additional accolade went to Yoshita 1967, the project of designer Anil Padia, who received the Savoir-Faire Prize, which carries the same prize money and annual mentoring. This last award is significant as it recognises the ability to combine design research with knowledge of production techniques.
This year's shortlist of finalists, however, reflected an exceptionally diverse creative scene, both geographically and culturally. In addition to the three winners, the competition featured designers from Europe, Asia and the United States. Among the finalists were Petra Fagerström from Sweden, French designer Gabriel Figueiredo with his brand De Pino, British designer Harry Pontefract with Ponte, Spanish designer Daniel del Valle with The Vxlley, Galib Gassanoff, originally from Georgia, with Institution, and American designer Colleen Allen.
Kegels's win comes at a time when the survival of independent labels is one of the most pressing issues facing the fashion industry. The gap between having an original creative vision and successfully turning it into a financially sustainable business can indeed be vast. It is for this reason that the award ceremony painted a picture of emerging fashion that goes beyond new clothes or new brands, encompassing new production models, creative identities and strategies for building the future of the industry. At the centre of it all this year is Julie Kegels: a new designer on whom international attention will now be firmly focused.