Loro Piana Announces Winners of Renowned Knit Design Award
The luxury brand has declared its winner for its seventh edition of the international design competition.
Since 2016, luxury brand Loro Piana has put on an internationally-renowned competition known as the Loro Piano Knit Design Award. The competition is created to showcase the talents of student designers who highlight their own take on various yarns that represent the prestige of the Maison. For 2023, the theme was "Regenerate," where participants were asked to produce an innovative idea centered around sustainability and reusing fibers and materials.
Students at prestigious design schools from all around the world participate each year, with this year's six candidates coming from the following participating schools: the Fashion Institute of Technology of New York, Heriot-Watt University of Edinburgh, Donghua University Shanghai, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Università IUAV di Venezia, and Institut Français de la Mode. The competition is meant to foster the talent of emerging designers and help pour in knowledge regarding the field of textiles that these student designers will then be able to carry into the industry.
Per the press release, "the goal is to innovate, experiment with, recycle and enhance the value of the Maison’s exclusive yarns, both new and iconic, playing with available colors and with the use of stitches to give rise to new weaves and textured forms." The students presented their projects at Loro Piana's headquarters in Milan on April 6, judged by a jury of industry experts.
These professionals included CEO Damien Bertrand, Sara Sozzani Maino, creative director of Fondazione Sozzani and educational & scouting advisor of Vogue Italia, Jordan Anderson, editor-at-large of NSS Magazine, Andrea Batilla, brand strategist and author, and Giuliana Matarrese, fashion and lifestyle journalist.
The winners of the 2023 Knit Design Award were students Sumin An and Blake Dewitt of the Fashion Institute of Technology of New York. An and Dewitt received the Knit Design Award handmade silver trophy, along with a scholarship and employment contract with Loro Piana. In addition to this, the winning pair also has the opportunity to make the finished project in Loro Piana's knitwear workshop in Piedmont, while receiving expert advice from artisans.
The finished product will be shown in Florence at the Pitti Filati—the leading trade event showcasing yarns—from June 28-30.
