These new visionary designers are galvanizing the fashion world
Discovered during the 2026 LVMH Prize, Daniel Del Valle, Galib Gassanoff, Anil Padia, and Petra Fagerström embody a new, profoundly free and experimental creative scene. Coming from diverse cultural backgrounds, these designers nevertheless share a common goal: to question the boundaries of contemporary clothing through their heritages and personal narratives. With Yoshita 1967, Anil Padia explores the codes of Indian and Kenyan bridal fashion through a contemporary approach steeped in artisanal craftsmanship. Petra Fagerström, for her part, imagines a hybrid fashion that maintains a constant tension between craftsmanship and digital technology. Galib Gassanoff, founder of Institution, transforms traditional Caucasian garments into contemporary pieces with a strong cultural dimension. Finally, Daniel Del Valle, through his THEVXLLEY project, introduces sculpture into clothing, giving rise to a deeply personal, sensory aesthetic.
Petra Fagerström
Swedish designer Petra Fagerström launched her eponymous label after graduating from Central Saint Martins last year. Breaking with the notions of softness and nostalgia common to other brands, she designs intelligent garments recognizable by their strong visual presence. The workshops contributing to the project developed lenticular pleating, the brand's signature technique: a succession of hundreds of individual pleats sewn by hand before attaching the fabric, creating a shifting effect on the garment's surface, like a hologram. While the result appears digitally created, the process is entirely artisanal; this paradox is what makes the garment so beautiful, transcending its physical form and appearance.
Contrary to popular belief, the relationship between craftsmanship and innovation is not one-sided. This subtle allegory of the contemporary world, torn between reality and digital life, reflects a desire to navigate between current cultural and social configurations. Deeply engaged with contemporary issues, Petra Fagerström imagines her Spring/Summer 2026 collection around the relationships between mothers and daughters, focusing on the power dynamics that remain invisible yet are undeniably oppressive. The mother, embodying authority, wisdom, and knowledge, exerts an influence on her daughter. However, this influence transforms into devotion: she forgets herself, existing only through her daughter's ambitions. These maternal figures, embodied by unsympathetic and perfectionist characters, are brought to life in this collection. The outfits combine bold, disproportionate pieces, holographic stockings, and metallic dresses with a crinkled effect. This latest collection is an extraordinary manifesto on the representation of power according to the individual who embodies it.
Yoshita 1967
Kenyan designer of Indian origin, Anil Padia conceived his brand as a union of his roots with a modern Western vision. India and Kenya are revealed through lines, craftsmanship, and practices deeply rooted in the cultures he has encountered. The workshops, located between Nairobi and Paris, preserve artisanal work that is fundamentally human-centered, while remaining in line with the expectations of contemporary luxury. Slow production involves women's communities to ensure their integration and contribute to their economic stability.
The designer extends the vision of his collections beyond clothing by constructing a compelling narrative and imbuing them with artistic resonance around social themes. His latest collection, "Manorama," named after his grandmother, explores wedding traditions and meticulous attention to detail. Interpreting marriage, a conservative institution, through modern cuts offers a relevant reflection on the transmission of traditions and customs. Crochet and embroidery enhance the body, while tiny mirrors, bells, and laces provide the desired sensual movement. Yoshita 1967's artistic imprint is avant-garde, drawing on ancient trends and techniques to transcend fashion limited by preconceived notions.
Institution
Galib Gassanoff is a Georgian artist deeply committed to the aesthetics of his culture, whose work extends beyond the boundaries of fashion. He founded the brand Institutionen 2024, directly referencing the very definition of an institution, and thus highlighting a desire to transcend the realm of fashion to also embrace socio-artistic objectives.
Growing up in Tbilisi, he was immersed in a rich tradition. This shaped his cultural references and his understanding of ethical principles. He keeps this culture alive through his representation of traditional clothing and his work promoting greater access to employment in certain regions of Georgia.
Collection 4 is titled "Su," a word derived from Proto-Turkic meaning "water." The reflection in water is often a metaphor for the mirror of the soul, a sensitivity that tends to disappear in the face of the omnipresence of images and cameras. Traditional pieces are reinvented, such as the chepken, a women's vest presented as a fitted wool jacket, created with the participation of women's communities from the southeastern Azerbaijani districts of Masallı and Lankaran. In keeping with its brand values, Gassanoff is committed to offering sustainable collections through responsible materials and its participation in Kering's Material Innovation Lab project, which aims to adopt sustainable practices in clothing manufacturing to reduce environmental impact.
INSTITUTION Collection 04 – SU Backstage © Alessandro Manneli
Collection 3, entitled "El," refers to the tribe and the spirit of community to which Galib is deeply attached. It is a more intimate collection that transcends his childhood memories. To preserve rare and traditional production techniques, he personally works alongside national communities to safeguard Caucasian cultural symbols such as rugs, knitwear, and fur.
THEVXLEY
Created by Daniel Del Valle, THEVXLLEY is a brand that embraces experimentation, bordering on performance art. The Spanish designer, based in London, creates garments that come to life through the use of unconventional materials, incompatible with the traditional clothing industry.
Embodying the true soul of an artist, Daniel Del Valle breaks free from the constraints of fashion in search of an exciting sensory experience. Poised between sculpture and performance, the bustiers worn by the models stand out for their striking presence. Delicate forms and pure colors blend seamlessly with the floral motif. Whether embedded in the material, depicted in mosaics, placed in a vase, molded onto a bustier, or printed, flowers symbolize the designer's sensitivity and modesty regarding his personal artistic creation. The ongoing dialogues between his designs reveal a profound artistic sensibility while remaining firmly rooted in the contemporary world we inhabit.
Through their respective collections, Daniel Del Valle, Galib Gassanoff, Anil Padia, and Petra Fagerström demonstrate that the new generation of designers is no longer simply seeking to produce clothing, but rather to construct genuine cultural and emotional narratives. Their presence at the 2026 LVMH Prize testifies to a major shift in the fashion industry: emerging designers are now valued for their ability to explore preserved production techniques as much as for their strong aesthetic. More than just a trend, this approach reveals a fashion without boundaries, where the lines between art, culture, memory, and innovation are becoming increasingly blurred.
@lvmhprize
