PARIS — Ester Manas, GmbH and Duran Lantink are among the many six finalists for the grand prize of the 2023 ANDAM Fashion Award, reflecting a European cohort of designers which have incorporated social and environmental considerations into their brand philosophy.

Brussels-based Ester Manas, founded by Ester Manas and Balthazar Delepierre, is a size-inclusive brand that works mainly with deadstock fabrics, as do GmbH’s Benjamin Huseby and Serhat Isik, established in Berlin. The duo pull inspiration from politics and their multicultural heritage for his or her designs. (Isik is Turkish German and Huseby is Pakistani Norwegian.) 

Lantink, who is predicated in Amsterdam, has made a reputation for himself by upcycling designer clothing from older seasons, cutting pieces from different brands up and putting them back together. 

Marie-Christine Statz of Paris-based label Gauchere is hoping it would be third time lucky, after previously reaching the finals of the competition’s Pierre Bergé Prize, which focuses on young French corporations, in 2014 and 2015. The brand’s commitment to the environment is applied to the production chain, with suppliers ensuring full product traceability starting with the origin of raw materials.

Meanwhile, LGN Louis-Gabriel Nouchi proposes gender-fluid collections with a literary inspiration, prioritizing using fabrics with low environmental impact, natural dyes, and buttons and labels product of recycled plastic. Rounding out the list of finalists is Italian designer Andrea Adamo’s Andreādamo label, known for its sensual, body-hugging knitwear with an inclusive ideology. 

Candidates for ANDAM’s grand prize of 300,000 euros may be of any nationality, but must own a French company or set one up throughout the same yr they receive the fellowship. ANDAM may even award a runner-up Special Prize, with a money award of 100,000 euros, to one in every of the finalists within the ceremony, which is scheduled for June 29.

The three nominees for the Pierre Bergé Prize, which is value 100,000 euros, are Avellano by Arthur Avellano, which focuses on latex creations; Ouest Paris, a Paris-based menswear label founded by former Ami designer Arthur Robert, and Vaillant, designed by Alice Vaillant, known for lingerie-inspired camisole tops and slip dresses worn by the likes of Kylie Jenner and Rita Ora.

The contenders for the Accessories Prize, which has been raised to 100,000 euros this yr from 50,000 euros previously, are Alighieri, the London-based jewelry label founded by Rosh Mahtani; Paris-based jewelry brand Panconesi, by Italian designer Marco Panconesi, who moonlights as design director at Swarovski, and Ukrainian milliner Ruslan Baginskiy, whose hats are featured in Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” tour. 

Chloé chief executive officer Riccardo Bellini, who’s the mentor of the prize this yr, said the jury was looking out for designers with a powerful sense of social responsibility.

Among the many guests members of the jury that Chloé chosen are Quannah Chasinghorse-Potts, American model and land protector for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; Mexican climate activist Xiye Bastida, and Trisha Shetty, human rights campaigner and founding father of SheSays, an Indian NGO working to advertise gender equality.

“The collection of this yr’s jury desired to reflect our ambition to essentially show how environmental and social considerations are as essential as aesthetic and creativity in today’s world,” Bellini told WWD.

“We fundamentally consider that now greater than ever, we want young creatives and designers of tomorrow to be the drivers of positive change and innovation for our industry to thrive in the long run,” he added. 

Along with creative director Gabriela Hearst, Bellini helps to remodel Chloé right into a purpose-driven, socially engaged enterprise. But he said the entire ANDAM jury, which incorporates everlasting members from corporations including Balenciaga, Hermès and Saint Laurent, was committed to promoting sustainable design.

“Beyond the choice and the incredible variety of applications that we received, what we’ve been noticing, and what I’ve been noticing, especially working with all the colleges and young creatives, is that those points are embedded almost organically within the considering of many young creatives now, so it’s not something that it’s good to request,” he said. 

“In some ways, social responsibility and sustainability is becoming the mindset of any young creative, and that’s a really different thing for our generation of creatives,” Bellini noted.

While a lot of them already put their principles into motion, the prize should help them to scale what is usually a costly strategy, he added.

“They may all the time take a look at upcycling and recycling as core elements, and infrequently there will probably be narratives around those values. Because they’re still young talents they usually still have very small businesses, which is the character also of ANDAM, they’ll all need mentoring of what it takes to show this right into a successful business in today’s world,” Bellini said.

“That’s where I feel ANDAM, with this ecosystem, with this mentoring system, can truly help to harness the vision of those talents now and switch it right into a successful business model and due to this fact influence much more the change within the industry,” he added. 

The 12 finalists can have access to deadstock materials provided by Balenciaga and Longchamp, while OTB will run a workshop on best practices in sustainable design, and WSN and Première Classe will showcase the winners at its trade shows.

The finalists based in France can have privileged access to the Institut Français de la Mode fashion school’s accelerator program, and financial advice from the Institute for the Financing of Cinema and the Cultural Industries, which supports cultural industries in France.

Created in 1989 by Nathalie Dufour, with the support of the French Ministry of Culture and the DEFI, a body that promotes the event of the French fashion industry, and with the late Pierre Bergé as president, ANDAM has been a springboard for designers who would go on to realize international recognition.

Past winners have included Viktor & Rolf, Christophe Lemaire, Jeremy Scott and Marine Serre.

ANDAM — the French acronym for National Association of the Development of the Fashion Arts — can be supported by large corporate sponsors, which now include Balenciaga, Bureau Betak, Chanel, Chloé, Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, Galeries Lafayette, Google France, Hermès, Kering, Lacoste, Longchamp, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, L’Oréal Paris, Meta, Mytheresa, OTB, Premiere Classe, Saint Laurent, Swarovski and Tomorrow.

“It’s a particularly powerful platform where everybody is engaged authentically and with a whole lot of commitment,” Bellini said. “Truthfully, we’re creating here something that could be a jewel.”

He said the jury was impressed by the extent of creativity of the finalists, which reflects the continued drawing power of the French capital. “It sets the stage for a really top quality competition at the top of June,” Bellini said.