Julie Kegels LVMH Prize win was announced this afternoon at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, with the Belgian designer, 27, claiming the 13th edition of the award and its €400,000 endowment, plus a year of mentorship from teams across LVMH. The prize was presented by Jennifer Lawrence. According to Modem Mag, Kegels was chosen from more than 2,400 initial applicants and 9 global finalists, which, given the field, makes the result land with some weight.
Kegels launched her eponymous, Antwerp-based womenswear label in 2024, shortly after graduating from the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts. The pace since has been considerable: an off-schedule Paris showing in February 2025, a collection titled 50/50, then a place on the official Paris Fashion Week calendar that September for SS26. Four collections in, the label has its own coherent proposition, built around the idea that a single woman can hold many identities, sometimes within the same day. That philosophy finds its form in sculptural silhouettes and artisanal technique, in clothes that draw as readily on domestic spaces and personal memory as on anything more rarefied. The woman she designs for, as Kegels describes her, is full of contradictions: someone who doesn’t take life too seriously and finds a kind of freedom in that.
‘I still can’t believe it, actually,’ Kegels said on receiving the prize. ‘There are such talented finalists here, they’re amazing, and I couldn’t believe it was me.’ On what the win represents for her team: ‘I’m proud. We work with a lot of young, passionate people who really give way more time and energy than the brand can actually afford.’
On what the funding changes: ‘I don’t want to grow too fast, or do things I would regret. The only thing I’m thinking would be amazing is to have an extra person in the team, that would really be a dream.’ It is the kind of answer that suggests she knows exactly what she is doing.
What Julie Kegels LVMH Prize Win Means for Her Label
The two runner-up prizes carry €200,000 each and a year of mentorship. The Karl Lagerfeld Special Jury Prize, recognising exceptional promise, went to Zane Li of Lii, presented by Priyanka Chopra. Born in Chongqing and based in New York, Li founded the label straight out of the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2023, debuting for AW24 and producing six collections since. The work lands where sportswear meets couture, remaining minimalist but closely considered. ‘It feels surreal,’ Li said. ‘I feel like I’m in a really long jet-lag dream and I don’t ever want to wake up.’ The funding has a specific destination in mind: ‘Accessories, different fabrications, full-fashion knits. We didn’t have the budget to do that before.’
Li also spoke to the broader demands of running an independent label at this scale. ‘It’s more than being a sewer, more than a pattern maker. You need to be a publicist, an interior designer, a content creator, a graphic designer.’ The prize, at least, buys some room to specialise.
The Savoir-Faire Prize and a First for Kenya
The Savoir-Faire Prize, introduced in 2024 to recognise craftsmanship, technical innovation and sustainability, went to Anil Padia of Yoshita 1967. An artisan-led house working between Nairobi and Paris, it draws on Padia’s Kenyan-Indian lineage and is built around slow production and long-term collaboration with women-led craft communities. Padia is the first Kenyan finalist in the prize’s history. The award was presented by Urassaya Sperbund, according to Vogue.
‘You won a prize, one of the most prestigious in the world,’ Padia said. ‘It adds to your conviction.’ The funding will go towards expanding craft capacity: ‘We want to go into hand-knitting, and [develop with] the technicians around that. [There’s] a lot of infrastructure in our craft.’ On what he intends to protect as the label grows: ‘Our approach to production, and our relationships with the artisans we work with. A big part of our values is protecting the artisans.’
Founded by Delphine Arnault in 2013, the LVMH Prize has previous winners including Grace Wales Bonner, Marine Serre, Nensi Dojaka, Ellen Hodakova Larsson and, last year, Soshi Otsuki. This year’s jury welcomed five new members: Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Loewe, Camille Miceli of Pucci, Michael Rider of Celine, and Pietro Beccari, chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton.
Kegels, for her part, keeps returning to the garments themselves. ‘It’s always just about clothes. You always talk and explain your work, but at the end you look at the clothes and that’s it. It doesn’t have to be too complicated, an easy, simple thing, and a detail that attracts you.’ From more than 2,400 applicants to the stage at the Fondation Louis Vuitton: that detail has clearly attracted the right people.
