Gigi Hadid is joining the committee of experts for the seventh edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers and will act as ambassador for its showroom in March, where the semifinalists will show their collections to the panel composed of major industry figures.
The model, who has 51.4 million followers on Instagram, follows in the footsteps of Chiara Ferragni, who last year became the first official ambassador of the initiative as part of organizers’ efforts to ramp up the prize’s digital presence.
Hadid joins influencers Caroline Daur and Leaf Greener, alongside six other newcomers drawn from the worlds of media, e-commerce and activism on the prize panel.
They include Irish writer, academic and advocate Sinéad Burke; art director Ronnie Cooke Newhouse, the owner of fashion advertising agency House + Holme; Natalie Kingham, fashion and buying director at Matchesfashion.com; and Lauren Santo Domingo, cofounder and chief brand officer of Moda Operandi.
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Also new are Jo Ellison, editor of How to Spend It, and Ibrahim Kamara, senior fashion editor at large for i-D. Delphine Arnault, second-in-command at Louis Vuitton and a member of LVMH’s executive committee, welcomed the newcomers.
“They are witnesses and essential actors of fashion. Their vision helps to discover the most promising talents. I would like to thank them warmly for their loyalty and commitment to our cause,” she said in a statement.
The panel now counts a total of 68 experts, including Sarah Andelman, Fabien Baron, Alexandre de Betak, Carmen Busquets, Edward Enninful, Linda Fargo, Stephen Gan, Michel Gaubert, Julie Gilhart, Adrian Joffe, Pat McGrath, Suzy Menkes, Carla Sozzani and Natalia Vodianova.
The winner, decided by a jury including LVMH’s top designers, will walk away with a cash prize of 300,000 euros ($331,000) plus a year of coaching from experts at LVMH. Arnault, a key talent scout at the luxury group her family controls, said she would reveal the composition of the jury soon.
The prize is open to designers under age 40 who have presented and sold at least two collections of women’s, men’s or unisex ready-to-wear. Past winners include Thomas Tait, Grace Wales Bonner, Marine Serre and Thebe Magugu.
“I am pleased to see how the LVMH Prize, imagined by the LVMH group as a real support for young creatives, has grown since its launch in 2013. It is the responsibility of the LVMH group, as the industry leader in fashion and luxury, to support and follow the great designers of tomorrow,” Arnault said.
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com.
