The LVMH Prize is one of the most celebrated honors in the fashion industry, particularly for an upcoming designer. Past finalists have included OFF-WHITE™ head honcho Virgil Abloh, Hood By Air’s Shayne Oliver and WALES BONNER namesake designer Grace Wales Bonner, the latter two actually winning in their respective years. Now, another designer of color can now be added to the list of big winners as Johannesburg’s own Thebe Magugu has been named as the 2019 LVMH Prize winner.
At just 26 years old, Magugu was able to win over a panel of judges that included Marc Jacobs, JW Anderson’s Jonathan Anderson, Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, Louis Vuitton creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, Opening Ceremony founders Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, plus Givenchy’s art director Clare Waight Keller. The prize includes €300,000 EUR (approx. $330,000 USD) and a year of mentorship alongside the aforementioned fashion heavyweights. The feat is pretty astounding, as the competition saw over 1,700 applicants entering from 100 countries across the world. The designs of Thebe Magugu (seen above) are vibrant, colorful and cater to the female figure in the most flattering way. As he states in his official LVMH profile, Magugu and his team “constantly seek new ways of presenting women with clothing that both complies with and enhances the everyday. Sleek, forward-looking design intersects with motifs from our continent’s storied past, providing smart, multifaceted clothes as valuable as their woman.”
Congrats on the big win, Thebe Magugu!
UPDATED (Sept 5): Take a look at the official recap from the 2019 LVMH Prize finale below:
