Wanda Nylon wins ANDAM Grand Prize
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Designer Johanna Senyk’s Wanda Nylon, which started off as a rainwear brand before expanding into a full ready-to-wear line, has been named the winner of the ANDAM Grand Prize, a competition that supports emerging labels showcasing in Paris.
As well as following in the footsteps of Martin Margiela, Viktor and Rolf, Jeremy Scott and British designer Gareth Pugh, who have all won the prestigious Grand Prize, Senyk’s wins a prize fund of 250,000 euros to help grow her business, plus two years of mentoring from Geoffroy de la Bourdonnaye, president and chief executive officer of Chloé.
Senyk’s Wanda Nylon, which launched in 2012, scooped the top honours ahead of finalists Aalto, Tim Coppens, Jacquemus, Koché and OAMC. 2016, has been a breakthrough year for the designer as she was also shortlisted for the LVMH Prize.
Commenting on Senyk’s win, De la Bourdonnaye said the designer was “focused on women who deserve notice and her designs always attract attention,” and that the French designer was “not afraid to experiment with new materials.”
ANDAM names 2016 winners
ANDAM also awarded the First Collections prize to Atlein, a label launched this year by French designer Antonin Tron, a graduate of The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp who has been working in Balenciaga’s studio. He wins a cash prize of 100,000 euros, as well as mentoring and guidance from a programme sponsored by Galeries Lafayette.
Tron scooped the honour ahead of finalists Harmony Paris and Japanese designer Kenta Matsushige.
The Accessories Design Prize, worth 40,000 euros was awarded to leather goods brand Tomasini Paris, launched in 2015 by Emanuel Tomasini, former communications director at Giuseppe Zanotti.
This year’s winners were selected by a 25-member jury composed of fashion executives, editors, actresses and models, including Pierre Bergé, Bruno Pavlovsky of Chanel, Pamela Golbin, and Nadja Swarovski.
ANDAM, the National Association for the Development of Fashion Artists, was founded in 1989 through an initiative of the French Ministry of Culture. It’s annual competition, now in its 27th year, has become one of the fashion industry’s longest-running competitions for fashion design. In 2015, the Grand Prize was awarded to the Pigalle label from Stéphane Ashpool.
Images: Andam website