Image via Complex Original
Did you guys know that last week, the eight finalists for the third annual LVMH Prize were announced? Organized and run by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy since 2013, the prize awards a young designer a grant of 300,000 euros and technical and financial support from LVMH for a year. The contestants are judged by a jury pulled from LVMH’s stock of luxury house designers. In order to qualify, the designers must be under 40 and have produced at least two collections. Past winners include Shayne Oliver of Hood by Air, and everyone from Virgil Abloh to Craig Green and Vetements' Demna Gvasalia have been picked up nominations in years past. The current crop of finalists chosen by the judges can be seen as representing the emergent blending of womenswear and menswear as seen on an increasing number of runways. One of them will take home the big prize on June 16th, 2016. Before that, let’s get you up to speed on the five finalists who design menswear or unisex collections. There won’t be a quiz at the end, but the fashionable people in your office will be totally impressed you know that this year’s finalists are the first to feature a Japanese designer.
Alyx
Founded by designer Matthew Williams in 2015, Alyx is the high fashion culmination of Williams’ tastemaking career. Starting out as a part of the original DONDA braintrust—he designed a jacket for Kanye to wear to the Grammy Awards—Williams, with Virgil Abloh and Heron Preston, helped to define a new streetwear aesthetic through their brand/collective/art project Been Trill. With his own line, named after his daughter, Williams continues the hyper-referential and almost nostalgic re-purposing of trends and iconography from his youth; this time with Alyx, the focus is less on fonts and attitude and more one fabric sourcing and construction. Although the high fashion world hasn’t led Williams to shy away from his original sources of inspiration: The latest collection featured tees that, when folded, spelled out “f*** you,” and masks made by Shin Murayama out of Camel and Newport cigarette t-shirts.
Facetasm
Another of the finalists who makes both men’s and women’s clothing, Facetasm by Hiromichi Ochiai has been a cult fashion brand for fans and collectors of Japanese fashion for almost a decade. Launched in 2007, the brand is eclectic and eccentric, combining pop culture references with everything from workwear silhouettes, to an overall sense of play and androgyny. Oh yeah, Facetasm also made one of the greatest varsity jackets of all time. Ochiai is the first Japanese designer to be named a finalist for the LVMH Prize.
Wales Bonner
Designer Grace Wales Bonner, a graduate of the prestigious London fashion school Central Saint Martins, designs menswear that can be best described as a futuristic fusion of historic cultural inspirations and modern, even post-modern conceptions of masculinity and sensuality. Sleek, slim fitting suits adorned with beading and flared legs filled out a recent collection that represents a refreshing approach to menswear still clearly rooted, but not bound in, its history.
Y/Project
Glenn Martens helms the Paris based label that makes both mens and womenswear. In fact, Y/Project creates unisex pieces that represent 50% of both the women’s and men’s collections. The collection manages to be unisex, without being androgynous, while still maintaining commercial appeal...all of which helps to explain Martens’ finalist position.
Vejas
The eponymous label of 19 year-old Vejas Kruszewski is already a favorite of New York cool kids. Boasting a gender fluid approach that utilizes familiar silhouettes to create refreshingly directional and thoroughly modern pieces, Vejas has quickly risen on the scene and clearly made a strong impression on the Parisian Illuminati.