bated breath annually, as the list is always a strong indication of who will be the next big thing in the industry.

Since it was launched in 2014, the LVMH Prize has consistently identified creatives who eventually became the fashion and design industry's major players. Previous nominees include Jacquemus, Simone Rocha, Julien Dossena of Paco Rabanne, and Demna Gvasalia of Balenciaga. And among the winners? We’ve seen Marques’Almeida, Grace Wales Bonner, and Marine Serre, but also more recently, stars of Feburary 2022's London Fashion Week season Priya Ahluwalia, Nensi Dojaka and Supriya Lele.

The semi-final of the LVMH Prize took place between March 4-9, during which 19 budding designers were whittled down to just eight finalists. And now, those final designers will present their collections to the jury at the Louis Vuitton Foundation, who will select the winner, plus the designer that will receive the new Karl Lagerfeld Prize.

The Finalists:

ASHLYN by Ashlynn Park, South Korea, womenswear

ERL by Eli Russell Linnetz, United States, womenswear, menswear, and genderless collections

KNWLS by Charlotte Knowles & Alexandre Arsenault, United Kingdom, Canada, womenswear

ROISIN PIERCE by Róisín Pierce, Ireland, womenswear

RYUNOSUKEOKAZAKI by Ryunosuke Okazaki, Japan, genderless collections

S.S. DALEY by Steven Stokey Daley, United Kingdom, menswear

TOKYO JAMES by Iniye Tokyo James, Nigeria, menswear

WINNIE NEW YORK by Idris Balogun, United States, menswear

Delphine Arnault, director and executive vice president of Louis Vuitton, said of this year's prize finalists: 'I would like to applaud their talent and their enthusiasm, and to congratulate all of them. I especially enjoyed interacting with each one and I was won over by their inventiveness, their way of celebrating know-how and crafts, as well as their approach to environmental issues.'