The 2019 LVMH Prize finalists have been announced

LVMH announced the eight finalists for its LVMH Prize For Young Designers for 2019 earlier today in Paris. LVMH has been holding its annual competition for six years to celebrate and bring recognition to young designers in the luxury sphere.

LVMH selected eight finalists of over 1,700 applications. The competition's final round includes Japanese designer Kunihiko Morinaga of Anrealage, South African designer Thebe Magugu British designer Bethany Williams, Emily Adams Bode from New York, Israeli designer Hed Mayner, Nigerian Kenneth Izedonmwen, American Spencer Phipps and British duo Stefan Cooke and Jake Burt.

Publications including Vogue, WWD and Hypebeast have been commended LVMH for its diverse group of finalists, noting that this year marks the first time that designers from Israel, Nigeria and South Africa have been included in the competition's final round.

"Each new edition brings its lot of firsts,” Delphine Arnault, executive vice oresident of Louis Vuitton and the prize's founder, told Vogue. “It goes to show the reach of the Prize on the one hand, and on the other, the reach of fashion, its ability to touch more and more people, thanks in part to the internet. It is truly a unifying dynamic."

A jury will meet at the Fondation Louis Vuitton to decide a winner in June. While this year will be the first year without the late Karl Lagerfeld on the panel, the jury will include Nicolas Ghesquière, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Marc Jacobs and newcomer Kris Van Assche of Berlutti