Breaking: This Young South African Designer Wins Fashion’s Biggest Prize, the LVMH Award

Thebe Magugu, a 26-year-old South African designer, was recently awarded the coveted LVMH prize making him the first African to win the ward since its inception in 2014.

The award comes with a 300, 000 euros prize money and a year-long mentorship from the luxury brand’s team.

Magugu, who was originally from Kimberly in South Africa, moved to Johannesburg where he studied fashion design, photography and media at the LISOF School of Fashion.

He later went on to launch his namesake womenswear label in 2016, though he operated from his home.

Over the years, he has built a reputation for his designs which are inspired by the complexities of his home country. Known for his contemporary designs that tap into feminism, womanhood and politics of his environment; plus, his use of local suppliers for his pieces.

“creating clothes with cultural significance, exploring social issues, sharing stories from my country, empowering those I can, and making beautiful functional clothes women want to wear has been a checklist I continually hold the brand to,” he shared on his Instagram page after being named one of the eight finalists for the Prize early this year.

According to the organizers, the young South African designer beat 1700 other candidates from over 100 countries to win the Prize which is open to every designer under 40 who had sold at least two ready-to-wear collections.

Other finalists included another African, Nigerian Kenneth Izedonmwen of the Kenneth Ize label; Anrealage from Tokyo; Bode from New York; Bethany Williams and Stefan Cooke from London; and Spencer Phipps of Phipps brand based in Paris.

Speaking after receiving the award, Magugu said, he plans to use the cash prize to get a studio and hire more talents:

Winning the Prize means the world to me. 300, 000 euros goes very long very. The unemployment rate is 30 per cent of the youth in South Africa. That is massive. I want to do my part.

Earlier in the year, the South African designer won an award for the best curation and fashion content at the International Fashion Showcase in London.

According to Delphine Arnault, the brain behind the award, “Thebe stood out to the judges thanks to the originality of his use of cut, colour and materials and the innate femininity of his easy-to-wear pieces.

He married creative flair with commercial intuition, and it was very impressive to see, despite the outstanding standard of the other finalists,” she said.

“It is wonderful to have had the first African designer to win the LVMH prize. We work extremely hard to make sure that the talent of any nationality can apply. I am excited to see all that Thebe goes on to achieve, both in the next 12 months and in the years ahead.”

The Prize was award by a jury of judges that included industry heavyweights such as designer Jonathan Anderson, Maria Grazia Chiuri of Dior, Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Nicolas Ghesquiere of Louis Vuitton and executives from the French luxury brand LVMH.