Names of 2025 Andam Fashion Awards' 11 finalists revealed
The jury's 33 members have chosen the finalists of the 2025 Andam Fashion Awards. Eleven entrants have been shortlisted for the final round of the emerging designer competition's 36th edition. The winners in the awards' five categories will each receive a Swarovski trophy designed by Alexandre Mattiussi, patron of this edition's Pierre Bergé Prize. On June 30, the finalists will showcase their labels, making the case for their creative and business potential.
Grand Prize and Special Prize
The following five labels will compete for Andam's Grand Prize (with a €300,000 purse) and the Special Jury Prize (worth €100,000). French women's ready-to-wear label Alainpaul is defined by its conceptual approach towards the way clothes are choreographed around the body. By analysing the essence of movement, Alainpaul reinvents ballet dancing clothes in an urban context, where style concepts and wearability co-exist.
The second finalist, Zomer, was founded by Danial Aitouganov, an Amsterdam-born Dutch fashion designer with Tatar roots. After stints at major names like Alexander Wang, Chloé, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton, Aitouganov co-founded his own label in 2023 with designer Imruh Asha. Zomer is distinctive for its colours and floral prints.
Egonlab, a label with an 'urban tailoring-punk DNA,' was founded in 2020 by Florentin Glémarec and Kevin Nompeix. It blends tartan suits with polka-dot ties, shaggy hats and oversize boots, stained football jerseys and handbags made from leather footballs. The signature traits of Meryll Rogge, the label by the eponymous Belgian designer, are upcycling and unisex designs. It features a rather classic wardrobe, mixing and matching between urban outfits and sportswear. Finally, Willy Chavarria and his eponymous menswear label originate from Mexico. His looks have a sensual, vigorous vibe, sporting tattoos, open-necked shirts and belted trousers.
Pierre Bergé Prize
Three labels have been shortlisted for the Pierre Bergé Prize, competing for a €100,000 purse. French designer Burç Akyol and his eponymous label have established a dialogue between East and West. Akyol, who grew up in France in a Maghreb community, creates menswear looks characterised by sensuality and elegance.
Mouty's refined streetwear - Mouty
The second finalist is another eponymous label, Jeanne Friot. The Paris-based designer has been creating sustainable, upcycled unisex fashion since 2020, her collections produced in limited volumes. Mouty is a tailored streetwear label also launched in 2020 and previously backed by the French women's ready-to-wear federation's Talents programme. The latest collection designed by Bertille and Thomas Mouty is heavily influenced by Americana, hip-hop and pop music culture, and cinema.
Fashion Accessories Prize
Three brands are vying for the Fashion Accessories Prize, worth €100,000. Panconesi was founded in 2018, and regards jewels as spiritual objects to be cherished like living artefacts. Each piece of jewellery is designed by Marco Panconesi as an extension of its wearer's body. Sarah Levy designs accessories inspired by contemporary attitudes and behaviour. The Belgian brand has developed a new vocabulary for accessories, mixing craftsmanship with upcycling and paying attention to functionality and durability.
Panconesi is on the Fashion Accessories Prize shortlist - Panconesi
Finally, Phileo was founded by Philéo Landowski in 2019. It brings an architectural perspective to footwear design, and is also active in multi-disciplinary projects. It has featured in artistic collaborations like the Tadashi Kawamata monumental installation for Phileo at Dover Street Market Paris in September 2024.
Access to consultancy and materials
Whether they win nor not, the 11 shortlisted labels will all be able to tap the expertise of various fashion names. For example, Balenciaga will give them priority access to its fabric and raw material inventory as part of the 'Powered by Balenciaga' initiative, launched in 2020. Longchamp will put its dormant stock of leather and other materials at their disposal as part of the 'Longchamp Re-Play' programme, introduced in 2019. The OTB group will stage an in-person workshop in Paris on the apprenticeship trades that are key for the fashion industry's sustainable development. Finally, the Tomorrow showroom will stage digital mentoring sessions designed to help the labels optimise their merchandising, commercial and financial strategies.
The Andam's French finalists will also benefit from priority access to the IFM's Accelerator programme, and the financial know-how of IFCIC.
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