The LVMH Prize has announced its list of finalists for the 2024 edition. They are: Aubero by Julian Louie from the United States, Duran Lantink from the Netherlands, Hodakova by Ellen Hodakova Larsson from Sweden, Marie Adam-Leenaerdt from Belgium, Niccolò Pasqualetti from Italy, Paolo Carzana from the United Kingdom, Pauline Dujancourt from France, and Standing Ground by Michael Stewart from Ireland.
“The semi-final of the 11th LVMH Prize highlighted the diversity and richness of the candidates’ creative approaches,” said Delphine Arnault, CEO of Christian Dior, who noted the designers’ commitment to both craftsmanship and sustainability. “I’m also delighted that two former semi-finalists of the Prize, Duran Lantink and Niccolò Pasqualetti, have reached the final,” added the executive. Lantink was first shortlist´eed for the 2019 edition of the Prize, which came prior to the wave of popularity and critical acclaim the designer has encountered since his Paris debut in March of 2023. Pasqualetti was first a semi-finalist in 2022. Both designers are a testament to the importance of resilience, and also of how essential it is for designers to continue to hone their skills and refine their aesthetic.
The Prize has returned to eight finalists after last year’s nine, though this year they will compete for three prizes rather than the usual two. LVMH has added a Savoir-Faire Prize, which will reward excellence in craftsmanship, sustainability, and technical innovation, in addition to the Grand Prize and the Karl Lagerfeld Prize.
Louie and Larsson, as well as Lantink, are known for the distinct ways in which they upcycle deadstock material and vintage or discarded items in their collections, while Stweart and Dujancourt have each developed considerate and sustainable approaches to producing and scaling their collections. The inaugural round of the Savoir-Faire Prize could be anyone’s game.
This list of finalists includes four men, three women, and one non-binary individual. While it is one of the Prize’s most gender-inclusive finalists lineups in recent memory, it is not the most ethnically diverse. None of the Asian, Black, or Latin American designers in the semi-finalist round made the final cut this year. This year’s finalists represent only the U.S. and seven European countries.