GRACE WALES BONNER WINS THE 2016 LVMH PRIZE

By Crash redaction

GRACE WALES BONNER: LAUREATE OF THE 2016 LVMH PRIZE

In only three years of existence, the LVMH Prize has quickly become one of the most respected fashion design competitions for young talents worldwide. The award boosted the careers of many talented designers in the past, particularly previous winners Thomas Tait and Marques Almeida. This year, the competition brought eight extremely talented finalists together: Tuomas Merikoski (Aalto), Brandon Maxwell for his eponymous label, Hiromichi Ochiai (Facetasm), Matthew Williams (Alyx), Christelle Kocher (Koché), Vejas Kruszewski (Vejas), Glenn Martens (Y/Project), and Grace Wales Bonner (Wales Bonner). At the term of a day of presentations, the prestigious jury composed of Jonathan Anderson, Nicolas Ghesquière, Marc Jacobs, Humerto Leon, Carol Lim, Pheobe Philo, Riccardo Tisci, Karl Lagerfeld (all representing the Houses of the LVMH group), as well as Delphine Arnault, Jean-Paul Claverie, and CEO Pierre-Yves Roussel, awarded the prize to Grace Wales Bonner. The 25-year-old British designer is a Central Saint Martens graduate who launched her menswear line after graduating in 2014. Exploring the representations of black male identity and sexuality, she offers a new lecture on luxury with her documented and delicate collections that appeal to the soul. The designer is no stranger to awards as she was awarded Emerging Menswear Award at last year’s British Fashion Awards. With her LVMH prize comes a grant of 300,000 euros and special guidance provided by LVMH for her entreprise.

www.walesbonner.net / www.lvmhprize.com

Discover key looks from the Wales Bonner Fall-Winter 2016 collection below: