Rihanna. Image: Supplied Rihanna, Virgil Abloh and Stella McCartney have joined the jury to select the winner of the LVMH Prize.
The design trio will join the likes of Jonathan Anderson, Kris Van Assche, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Nicolas Ghesquière, Marc Jacobs, and Clare Waight Keller in meeting with the eight finalists for the prestigious accolade - which honours and supports young fashion designers around the world - before a winner is announced in Paris on 5 June.
Industry experts have whittled down 20 semi-finalists down to a shortlist of eight, who will compete for the 300,000 euros grant and a year of support and mentorship.
Five of the shortlisted labels - Chopova Lowena by Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena, Peter Do, Sindiso Khumalo and Supriya Lele's eponymous lines, and Tomotoka Koizumi's Tomo Koizumi - make womenswear, while the other three, Ahluwalia by Priya Ahluwalia, Casablanca by Charaf Tajer, and Nicholas Daley's eponymous collection, focus on menswear.
In a press release, Delphine Arnault, Executive Vice President of Louis Vuitton and the founder of the Prize, said: "This year, once more, the semi-finalists impressed us with their creativity and their commitment to creating clothes that are respectful of the environment... The eight finalists all have in common to be very talented in their respective fields and to aspire to enhance know-how."
Bulgarian-American designer Emma Chopova is the first person to represent Bulgaria in the list of finalists, while India is also represented for the first time with British-Indian designer Supriya Lele.
Sindiso Khumalo is the second ever finalist to represent South Africa, following Thebe Magugu's win last year.
The LVMH prize was first established in 2013.
