Original Paris atelier scene with three unbranded sculptural garments representing the 2026 LVMH Prize winners

Julie Kegels Wins €400,000 LVMH Prize Ahead of Paris Fashion Week

Julie Kegels has won the 2026 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers, receiving a €400,000 endowment and one year of tailored mentorship just 24 days before her next Paris Fashion Week runway show.

The Belgian designer was named the main-prize winner at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris on September 4. Two other independent labels also received major awards: New York-based Lii, designed by Zane Li, won the Karl Lagerfeld Prize for Innovation, while Anil Padia’s Nairobi- and Paris-based Yoshita 1967 received the Savoir-Faire Prize. Each receives €200,000 and a year of mentorship from LVMH specialists.

The timing places the awards directly inside fashion month’s most consequential preparation period. Kegels is scheduled to open the Spring/Summer 2027 Paris Fashion Week calendar on Monday, September 28, at 2:30 p.m. Lii is on the official New York Fashion Week schedule, and Vogue reports that Li will present his next collection on September 14.

What has been confirmed

LVMH’s official information for the 13th edition says the competition began with more than 2,400 applicants. Twenty designers reached the March semifinal at La Samaritaine before nine labels advanced to the September 4 final.

The main award carries €400,000 and a one-year, customized mentorship. The Karl Lagerfeld Prize and Savoir-Faire Prize each provide €200,000 plus a year of LVMH guidance. The group’s published jury included senior designers and executives connected to Dior, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Fendi, Loewe, Celine, Kenzo and other influential houses.

Vogue’s September 4 report identifies Kegels, Lii and Yoshita 1967 as the three winners. It also reports that Kegels intends to strengthen her company’s infrastructure, expand her small team and seek support with financial management and manufacturing relationships. Li, currently operating Lii with an especially lean structure, plans to invest in production and direct-to-consumer capability.

Julie Kegels enters Paris Fashion Week with new leverage

Kegels founded her Antwerp-based womenswear house in 2024 after graduating from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and working in Paris at Alaïa. Her practice explores changing ideas of femininity through precise construction, visual illusion and garments that can shift in appearance or function.

The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode lists her Spring/Summer 2027 show for September 28 at 2:30 p.m., by invitation, with a digital component. That position makes her the first runway show on the provisional Paris calendar, ahead of an opening day that also includes Weinsanto, Maxhosa Africa and 2024 LVMH Prize winner Hodakova.

The prize does not guarantee commercial success, distribution or press conversion. It does, however, give Kegels three immediate assets before the show: capital, specialist advice and an international news hook. For a young house entering a crowded nine-day Paris schedule, that combination can materially improve the ability to explain why editors, buyers and stylists should pay attention now.

For the wider Paris schedule—including Dior, Chanel and Louis Vuitton—see Paris Runway’s SS27 major-house calendar guide.

Lii carries Paris recognition back to New York

Zane Li founded Lii after graduating from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. The label’s own LVMH Prize profile describes a practice that brings the structure and durability of sportswear into conversation with couture-like shape and material.

The CFDA lists Lii among the designers on the official September NYFW schedule. Vogue reports that Li’s next show is planned for September 14, giving the Karl Lagerfeld Prize an unusually fast runway follow-through.

That sequence—Paris recognition followed by a New York presentation—creates a communications bridge between two fashion capitals. It also gives the label a precise message beyond the general language of “emerging talent”: Lii has been recognized for innovation by a jury that included leaders from several of the world’s largest fashion houses.

Paris Runway’s NYFW opening-day report explains how another independent designer, Henry Zankov, is using a major appointment to enter the season with a similarly clear point of difference.

Yoshita 1967 expands the geography of the prize

Yoshita 1967 became the first Kenyan label to reach the LVMH Prize final, according to LVMH’s April announcement. Founded by Anil Padia and built between Nairobi and Paris, the brand works with craft communities in Kenya and draws on the designer’s Kenyan-Indian heritage.

The Savoir-Faire Prize is specifically intended to recognize craftsmanship, artisanal expertise, innovation and sustainability. Its award to Yoshita 1967 therefore carries a narrower meaning than a general endorsement of every environmental or social claim a brand might make. Responsible coverage should distinguish the prize’s stated criteria from independently verified impact data.

Paris Runway analysis: three communication lessons

First, a strong creative identity must be accompanied by an operating story. The reported focus on teams, manufacturing, distribution and customers shows that emerging labels are being evaluated as businesses as well as design practices. Press materials should explain not only what a collection looks like, but how the company intends to produce, sell and grow it.

Second, fashion-week timing turns an award into a campaign. Kegels and Li can now carry the prize into invitations, show notes, buyer appointments and post-show follow-up. The useful message is not simply that they won; it is what the funding and mentorship will enable them to build next.

Third, specificity is stronger than inflated language. Kegels won the main prize, Lii received the innovation award and Yoshita 1967 received the craftsmanship-focused award. Treating the three distinctions accurately preserves credibility and gives each brand a sharper editorial position.

The 2026 results ultimately connect Antwerp, New York, Nairobi and Paris through three different visions of an independent fashion business. The next test will arrive quickly: whether the attention generated in Paris can be converted into stronger collections, durable production and sustained relationships after fashion month moves on.

Sources

Calendar details are current as of September 5, 2026 and remain subject to organizer updates.

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