The second ever annual LVMH Prize attracted almost a thousand applications from all over the world, but in the end, there can only be one. Portuguese design duo Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida, better known as Marques'Almeida, walked away with the €300,000 grant from the international competition for emerging designers.
A all-star jury of LVMH designers including Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Nicolas Ghesquière and Raf Simons decreed that the nascent label beat out seven other finalists. The list of hopefuls had been whittled down to a global tally of talent, with London well repped by Marques'Almeida and other designers like Craig Green and Faustine Steinmetz.
Natalie Portman handed Marques and Almeida the prize at an awards ceremony in Paris at the glitzy new Frank Gehry-designed Louis Vuitton Foundation on the outskirts of Paris. They beat out seven other finalists, including Craig Green and Faustine Steinmetz. Their award also incorporates a year of coaching from top LVMH executives.
But they weren't the only winners this afternoon. Fellow finalist Jacquemus, aka Simon Porte Jacquemus, also nabbed a special jury prize, which includes a €150,000 grant as well as a year of coaching.
LVMH also introduced its first winning panel of graduate designers, awarded to fashion students who graduated this year. Central Saint Martins grad Matty Bovan joined Josh Read and Gabriel Castro in jointly winning the prize, which included a €10,000 grant and a chance to work with the design team of an LVMH brand for a year.