The 2026 LVMH Prize Finalists Are Here

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After announcing 20 semi-finalists in February, the 2026 LVMH Prize has narrowed the field to nine finalists, each competing for the coveted grand prize. Announced today, the candidates represent the future of fashion—not to mention one of the prize’s most geographically diverse lineups yet.

The nine finalists for the 2026 LVMH Prize are Colleen Allen, United States, womenswear; De Pino by Gabriel Figueiredo, France, womenswear; Institution by Galib Gassanoff, Georgia, womenswear, menswear and genderless collections; Julie Kegels, Belgium, womenswear; LII by Zane Li, China, womenswear and menswear; Petra Fagerström, Sweden, womenswear; Ponte by Harry Pontefract, United Kingdom, womenswear and menswear; The Vxlley by Daniel del Valle Fernandez, Spain, genderless collections; and Yoshita 1967 by Anil Padia, Kenya, womenswear.

Colleen Allen and Lily Allen, both wearing Colleen Allen’s designs, at the 2026 CFDA Awards.

“I am delighted to announce the names of the nine finalists for the 2026 LVMH Prize,” Delphine Arnault, the chairman and CEO of Christian Dior Couture and founder of the LVMH Prize, said in a statement. “This shortlist illustrates the Prize’s reach, with designers from the United States, Europe, China, and, for the first time, Kenya. The finalists demonstrated a singular creative vision while offering highly sophisticated interpretations of traditional craftsmanship.”

The LVMH Prize awards the winner with a €400,000 endowment and a one-year mentorship. The winners of the Karl Lagerfeld Prize and Savoir-Faire Prize will each receive €200,000 and a one-year mentorship.

A look from LII fall/winter 2026.

To say the prize’s jury—Sarah Burton, Nicolas Ghesquière, and Jonathan Anderson, among others—possesses a knack for spotting emerging talent would be downplaying it. Previous winners include Soshiotsuki, Grace Wales Bonner, Jacquemus, and Marine Serre. But the finalists of this year’s edition are already making waves in their own right.

Colleen Allen, an alumnus of The Row, has captivated New York’s fashion scene with her soft bustle dresses and explorations of femininity, while LII’s subversive T-shirt dresses and outerwear were standouts of the past two NYFW seasons. Julie Kegels’s “inside-out” designs are already a favorite of stars like Rosalía, while Ponte leans into dazzling structure and one-of-one techniques like hand-burnished suiting and pieced-together hosiery. And for the first time in the prize’s history, a finalist from Kenya has been named: Anil Padia of Yoshita 1967.

A look from Julie Kegels’s fall/winter 2026 show.

The nine finalists are scheduled to present their collections to the prize jury on September 4 at the Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris. “I am delighted to welcome new members to our exceptional jury: Jack McCollough, Lazaro Hernandez, Camille Miceli, Michael Rider and Pietro Beccari,” Arnault added. “I warmly congratulate the finalists and look forward to welcoming them to the LVMH Prize final.”