LVMH PRIZE Disrupted by the pandemic, the LVMH Prize was awarded jointly to all eight finalists this year, sending out a message of hope to a new generation of fashion designers whose brilliance is expressed through ecological consciousness and multicultu
fashion business to come. For example, the London-based label Ahluwalia, created by young designer Priya Ahluwalia, seeks to renew the codes of menswear prêt-àporter through an eco-responsible approach: drawing on the clothes worn by her family, who are of Indian and Nigerian descent, and mixing sportswear, streetwear and soft tailoring in a 90s-inspired aesthetic, Ahluwalia makes her garments from unsold fabric stock and reworked vintage pieces, with signature basics that affirm her street-culture credentials matched with football shorts or jogging bottoms in patchwork.
Paris was in the running too, represented by the FrancoMoroccan designer Charaf Tajer who, after co-founding the brand Pigalle, launched Casablanca in autumn 2019, a menswear label offering elegant, relaxed sports-chic clothing whose brightly coloured palette “simultaneously evokes the clay tennis courts of Roland Garros and the red soil of North Africa.” In a previous life, the designer was at the helm of the much-regretted Parisian nightclub Le Pompon, which drew a mixed crowd of city-centre bobos, visiting stars and banlieusards. With his dual cultural heritage and proximity to global hip-hop stars, Tajer understands better than anyone the desire for hedonism and refinement among a rising generation of men who refuse to compromise comfort for sartorial effect. Casablanca’s autumn/winter-2020 collection features superb nature- and animal-inspired prints, while Tajer has also revisited the pimp or mafioso archetype – an opulent fur coat worn all’italiana over a double-breasted suit – with subtle irony, intelligence and taste. His sumptuous silks are dyed in watercolour or sorbet hues and worn with necklaces of (fake) pearls.
Among the finalists were two other labels that displayed an essentially London dynamic, that of young designers from immigrant backgrounds who, through their approach to fashion, pursue an intercultural dialogue that mixes their families’ origins with their British sensibility. Already, back in 2016, the LVMH Prize winner that year, Grace Wales Bonner, whose mother is British and father Jamaican, had blazed an exciting new trail closer to art than fashion per se with an almost anthropological approach to clothing which she explores in her fanzines. This year, Supriya Lele displayed Indian influences in her work, while Nicholas Daley showcased the multicultural aspect of British identity by referencing his Scottish-Jamaican heritage. South African designer Sindiso Khumalo, who first studied architecture at the University of Cape Town before completing a master’s in textile design at Central Saint Martins, also took an approach based in anthropology and cultural studies, since she decided to look at representations of black women from the 1900s to the 1980s. By mixing Zulu and Ndebele ethnic influences with those from her home province of KwaZuluNatal, Khumalo developed highly original textiles that mix watercolour and collage techniques.
At the heart of Khumalo’s approach is a commitment to sustainability, a theme that was more present than ever this year, to the point of being the common denominator among all the candidates. To ensure the textiles she uses are environmentally friendly, Khumalo works with NGOs to find African workshops who treat their employees ethically, practises upcycling and refuses to use polyesters or other plastic derivatives, focusing instead on linens and hemps. Similarly, the American designer Peter Do only makes clothes on demand, and employs unused fabric stocks from one collection to another, while ChopovaLowena – the duo formed by Bulgaro-American Emma Chopova and Briton Laura Lowena – has developed a bespoke production process for their folklore-sportswear wardrobe, which is entirely made by expert seamstresses in Bulgaria. Chopova and Lowena also recycle materials from collection to collection, putting the emphasis on the handmade and the championing of female labour.
Meanwhile, Japanese designer Tomo Koizumi makes spectacular one-offs that lie somewhere between the evening gown and stage costume for a clientele of celebrities and extravagant ladies, but does so with unused stocks of fabric and ribbons which he cuts and drapes into extraordinary cascading flounces. Made only on request, Koizumi’s incredible creations are as glamorizing to the women who wear them as they are respectful of the planet. At a moment in history when many are pessimistic about the world’s future, the 2020 LVMH Prize finalists bring a welcome glimmer of hope.
Interview by Delphine Roche
NUMÉRO: Why was it important for you to show in Paris? KENNETH IZE: Paris is very important for me because of the community that I work with in Nigeria. I’ve been working with my community for about five years now. We have been thinking about how to grow, and how to advance craftsmanship in Nigeria. Going to Paris wasn’t just about me or the brand, it was about our heritage and our culture, and also how to include us in the fashion discussion. It was important for me to show in Paris as an African person. It’s time to show who we are and also to bring people here to my community so that they can understand them. Things are becoming very political right now, and I wanted to show my country how we are perceived outside, as well as to start a conversation for the youth here and to support women in the community.
When I interviewed you at the time of the 2019 LVMH Prize, you told me that when Western people look at your clothing they often try to interpret it in cultural terms, resorting to all the clichés that they project, instead of seeing it simply as garments.
As an African designer, I can only design what I’m designing. It’s how I grew up and how most Africans grew up: the mother is so extravagant, she loves fashion and she