“It feels like an illusion, a bit,” Mayner offered. “Karl was really part of the Prize since day one; he put all of his energy, goodwill, and kindness into it,” noted Arnault. “In very basic terms, I really do want to make sure that I am happy in the life I’m living but I also want to make sure that if ever I do leave, God forbid, that I would have contributed something quite solid not only to the industry but the world in general. The Prize won’t be the same without him.”Three fashion students were also recognized with winnings of 10,000 euros each and internships in LVMH houses: Alice Paris, a graduate of the Accademia Costume and Moda in Rome; Daisy Yu, a graduate of Central Saint Martins; and Juliette Tréhorel, of the Atelier Chardon Savard will spend the next year working at Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, and Christian Dior, respectively.Meanwhile, the seventh edition of the LVMH Prize will open for applications later this fall; the winners will be announced June 2020.The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com.A daily recap of the biggest runway news, latest trends, and emerging designers.Alicia Vikander, Thebe Magugu, and Delphine ArnaultThis year's jury includes (top row, from left) Jean-Paul Claverie, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Bernard Arnault, Nicolas Ghesquière, Alicia Vikander, Delphine Arnault, (bottom row, from left) Kris Van Assche, Clare Waight Keller, Jonathan Anderson, and Sidney Toledano I was in London at the time, when I was asked if I would be able to come to Paris at the end of the month.” The IFS programme was already a valuable springboard for Magugu’s career: “It was really getting the top people within their respective fields to give us insight into (the business of fashion) and teach us things around all that. I wasn’t going to enter because I suppose there were insecurities (…).
“So many people have stale ideas of what that means and I really want to change that. It’s great to find talent with a huge potential.” This year, more than 1,700 candidatures flowed in from 100 countries.In addition to his 300,000-euro winnings, Magugu will receive one year of business mentoring from LVMH. This is why, at the 24S fête hosted at Lapérouse last night, Thebe Magugu felt validated just seeing the DJ wearing his blouse (she wasn’t the only one, either). He takes that and he gives it new elements of grandeur, and he gives it a new element of black beauty and black aesthetics without it being Ankara kind of print. It was pretty enjoyable stuff for a first trip to Paris—plus the Johannesburg-based womenswear designer just turned 26 last Sunday, making him the youngest of this year’s finalists in addition to being the first talent from Africa to land in the finals.“It’s a lot of firsts,” Magugu allowed, noting that while he had long followed the Prize on Instagram, he almost put off his application until next year.“As a creative you’re always questioning yourself, but people around me told me there was no harm trying. For me, it’s an interesting take on where we are and where we need to be in terms of interpretation, what is African and what the world needs to absorb from us”, says stylist and creative consultant, Felipe Mazibuko.Magugu recalls that while in London, he received the call about his selection in the LVMH Prize. “It was (my) first time in Paris – I arrived there and the LVMH team was so incredible. “This support means less isolation, so the team can focus on creativity.”Lagerfeld’s absence loomed large inside the Fondation Louis Vuitton. So no matter the outcome, I already felt like I’d won so many things.” Nodding to his trophy, he added, “This is like the cherry on top.”Said Delphine Arnault, the executive vice president of Louis Vuitton and the founder of the LVMH Prize, “The creativity of his designs is great—the colors, the cuts, it’s very feminine.
Every collection Magugu creates is therefore named after a university subject that closely correlates to what he is feeling at that particular moment.Now, the collection that is presented at SA Fashion Week, called“He understands history beyond kitsch and retro. New talent is emerging on the international stage. Removing advertising from your browsing experience is one of them - we don't just block ads, we redesign our pages to look smarter and load faster. Thebe Magugu, the South African designer based in Johannesburg, has won this year’s LVMH Prize.The award comes with 300,000 euros and a year’s worth of mentoring from the group. We miss him a lot. He would make jokes on the jury and he had huge culture, he knew all the references. But that doesn’t mean he will be uprooting himself to Paris—quite the contrary.“My overarching mission as a designer is to showcase a contemporary South Africa,” he said. “He would always show up to see everyone’s work and encourage them even if he had his own show two days later.