LVMH has announced that it will rename its Prize for Young Fashion Designers the Karl Lagerfeld Prize after the late fashion designer who sadly passed away earlier this year.

Launched in 2014 by the LVHM Group, the Prize has provided a fundamental platform for many nascent designers, rewarding the winner with €150,000 and a one-year mentorship programme. Filtering down over 1,700 applicants, this year’s eight finalists are: Anrealage, designed by Kunihiko Morinaga; Bethany Williams; Bode by Emily Adams Bode; Hed Mayner; Kenneth Ize; Phipps by Spencer Phipps; Stefan Cooke by Stefan Cooke and Jake Burt, and Thebe Magugu. The winner will be announced on 4th September at the Fondation Louis Vuitton.

“Karl Lagerfeld, Creative Director of the House of Fendi since 1965, was involved in the Prize since its launch,” says Delphine Arnault, founder of the Prize. “He was fully committed to it since day one, transporting us with his enthusiasm and his energy. The Karl Lagerfeld Prize naturally perpetuates the closeness we developed over the years and is a tribute to the man’s unique creative genius.”