H&M is proud to announce the names of the eight finalists of the H&M Design Award 2013. The finalists, invited to take part from nineteen design schools in Europe, were selected by an H&M jury led by Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s Head of Design. Each wins €5,000, and a place in the final, presided over by a grand jury of fashion experts. The winner will receive a prize of €50,000, and the chance to show his or her collection at Mercedes-Benz Stockholm Fashion Week on January 29, when the winning name will be revealed. The winner will also develop selected pieces from his or her collection to be sold in selected H&M stores this autumn.
THE FINALISTS
ALBA PRAT (Germany): 31-year-old Alba from Barcelona has lived in Berlin for seven years, where she studied at the Universität der Künste. Her collection “syn chron” uses the visualisation of sound phenomena, basing her prints on two different visualised recordings of her own heartbeat.
DANIELA SALAZAR RODRIGUEZ (France): Originally from Venezuela, 27-year-old Daniela Salazar Rodriguez has studied in Paris since 2007. Her collection, designed at L’Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, mixes architectural modernity with Japanese and Korean historical costume.
ELEONORA BRUNO (Italy): Eleonora Bruno, who studied at Polimoda in her native Florence, is a 25-year-old who has expanded her work beyond hats to include full looks. Her collection, “Le Vie De Madame Roy”, creates imagined outfits for a woman in Paris.
ERIK LITZÉN (Sweden): Stockholm native 26-year-old Erik Litzén, who studied at the city’s Beckmans College of Design, is interested in plays with gender. His collection, “P-Androgeny”, uses draping and volume to create tailoring that goes beyond the normal bounds of menswear.
MAIA BERGMAN (United Kingdom): Maia Bergman, a 24-year-old born in Buenos Aires but now based in London, studied for her BA at Central Saint Martins. For her collection, she took simple, wearable silhouettes, and created contrast by decorating them with intricate embellishment.
MARK KENLY DOMINO TAN (Denmark): Mark Tan, a 26-year-old from Ry studied at DSKD in Kolding. His collection looks at the relationship between the body and wood, foam and plaster. Mark first made films, then translated these visual movements, shapes and colours into his high-tech collection.
MINJU KIM (Belgium): 26-year-old Minju Kim is originally from South Korea, and is now in her master’s degree year at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Minju’s collection is inspired by Manga, based on sketches of her friends transformed into fantastical creatures.
THOM BARENDS (Holland): Thom Barends is a 23-year-old from Amsterdam, who studied at ArtEz in Arnhem. His collection looks at present day society, and imagines a woman who ends up on the streets with nothing but her mother’s ‘80s clothing.
