Thebe Magugu Wins the 2019 LVMH Prize
South African designer Thebe Magugu is the winner of the sixth edition of the prestigious LVMH Prize.
The 26-year-old is the first African designer to receive the prize. He will receive a 300,000 euro grant and one-year mentorship provided by a dedicated LVMH team covering many fields of expertise (intellectual property, sourcing, production, and distribution, image and communication, marketing, sustainable development).
Magugu who lives and works in Johannesburg hails from the small town of Kimberley. A graduate of fashion design, fashion photography and fashion media from LISOF he founded his namesake label in 2016 which focuses on women’s ready to wear.
Elsewhere, Tel Aviv-based designer Hed Mayner won the first-ever Karl Lagerfeld Prize of 150,000 euros plus a year of mentoring for his crossover friendly menswear.
The winners were presented the Prize trophy, a sculpture especially designed by the artist Jean-Michel Othoniel by Oscar-winning Swedish actress Alicia Vikander who is a face of Louis Vuitton.
‘I am delighted that, for the first time, an African candidate has won the Prize, all the more so since Thebe Magugu, aged 26, is the youngest designer of the 2019 selection. His creative work appropriates the codes of menswear and womenswear, of the traditional and the experimental, playing with volumes and traditional South-African know-how. The jury was also seduced by Hed Mayner’s contemporary vision. His collections question the notion of gender through an aesthetic that blends soft lines and structure, simplicity and luxury. The sixth edition is evidence of the international outreach of the LVMH Prize, year after year: hailing from over one-hundred countries, more than 1,700 candidates applied this year. I would like to thank the eight finalists – from Europe, North America, the Middle East, Japan and Africa – who presented creations of an exceptional quality. I am delighted that the LVMH Prize contributes to placing the spotlight on Thebe Magugu and Hed Mayner, the two winners, and also to helping them develop their business,’ Delphine Arnault said in a statement.
The LVMH Prize is awarded every year, to encourage promising talent in the field of fashion and design. Last year the prize went to Japanese streetwear designer Masayuki Ino and his fashion label Doublet. The seventh edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers will take place in June 2020.
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