Are you the next Thomas Tait? Apply for the 2015 LVMH Prize

Now in its second year, the prestigious €300,000 award has just opened applications

LVMH Prize champion Thomas Tait with a winning look
via lvmhprize.com

If you fancy yourself the next Shayne Oliver or Thomas Tait, LVMH has got something for you. The luxury goods giant – home to Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Dior – has just announced the second edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. The grand reward? A €300,000 grant to pursue your creative work as well as a year's worth of professional mentoring and support from LVMH. If you're an emerging designer, those are not things to be sneezed at.

Tait walked away with the prize last year, but the standard of competition was deemed so high that LVMH couldn't resist giving Hood By Air and Miuniku special prizes too. To qualify for the award, you have to have produced two collections (either mens or womenswear) and be between the ages of 18 and 40. 

This year, LVMH has also introduced a grant for three impressive fashion school students who graduate this year. Each winner will get a €10,000 grant and a chance to join the design team at an LVMH brand for a year, which handily solves the problem of your student loan and postgraduate unemployment in one.

"With this second edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Designers, the Group confirms its ongoing dedication to young talent. It is our responsibility as a leader of our industry to identify tomorrow's talent and help them grow," Delphine Arnault said.

Creative directors from ten venerable LVMH fashion brands make up the judging panel: Nicolas Ghesquière, Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, Phoebe Philo, Raf Simons, Riccardo Tisci and JW Anderson. The ten finalists will be judged by a committee of industry experts, stylists, buyers and journalists during Paris Fashion Week in March.

Go to lvmhprize.com for more information and submission deadlines. 


Watch LVMH's video of the 2014 finalists below: